VOLUME 32 | NUMBER 1 | JULY 2015 AUSTRALASIA

Defining the Anthropocene

Policy-making in focus

Making the most of INQUA 2015

32 | 1 1 Frontiers in Earth Science is a peer‑reviewed, open-access journal.

Many of the most critical issues for the coming century The journal is composed of the following specialty depend on a deeper understanding of the inherently sections: Atmospheric Science complex Earth system. Earth Science investigates not only Biogeoscience Earth and Planetary Materials the fundamental questions of – but also the relationships Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism between – the hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, Hydrosphere biosphere, and solid Earth. It spans time and length scales, Interdisciplinary Climate Studies from instantaneous changes in crystal lattices to tectonic Marine Biogeochemistry Microbiological Chemistry processes across millions of years. Frontiers in Earth and Geomicrobiology Paleontology Science embraces and encourages the interdisciplinary Petrology Quaternary Science, nature of the field, and promotes co-operation between Geomorphology and Paleoenvironment researchers from fields spanning physics to marine Structural Geology and Tectonics science to chemistry, and integrating methods from Terrestrial Microbiology Volcanology remote sensing to field work to microscopy.

As a specialty section under Chief Editor, Prof Steven L. Forman, Quaternary Science, Geomorphology and Paleoenvironment promotes broad-based interdisciplinary research related to Earth systems in the past ca. 2.6 million years. Research in these fields focuses on understanding, quantifying and modeling earth surface processes and evaluating changes in past environments and climate from associated sedimentary, ice; and biogenic and non- biogenic carbonate archives. Weblink: http://www.frontiersin.org/earth_science Queries can be directed to: [email protected] UPDATE

VOLUME 32 | NUMBER 1 | JULY 2015 AUSTRALASIA

ISSN 0811-0433

CONTENTS FRONT COVER PHOTO: 4 Editorial Coring at Warneet, Victoria, Australia. The core was taken as part of a ‘blue carbon’ stock 5 President’s Pen assessment commissioned by the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management 6 News Authority. At this particular site we sampled saltmarsh, mangrove, and freshwater drains. 7 Meet a member of the AQUA executive committee: Steven Phipps The site had some of the highest carbon stocks across the entire state of Victoria (see report REPORTS by Paul Carnell et al. “The Distribution and Abundance of ‘Blue Carbon’ within 7 The advent of the Anthropocene in Australasia Port Phillip and Westernport”, available by Helen C. Bostock, David J. Lowe, Richard Gillespie, from Peter Macreadie: Rebecca Priestley, Rewi M. Newnham and Scott D. Mooney [email protected]). Photo: Peter Macreadie. 17 A Quaternarist’s guide to attending INQUA by Patrick Moss and Lydia Mackenzie INSIDE FRONT COVER PHOTO: 19 Dealing with Climate Change: Palaeoclimate Research in Australia Ground Swell by Matthew Harding, on display at Sydney Airport. by Katrin Meissner, Nerilie Abram, Leanne Armand, Zanna Chase, This work explores the geological history of Patrick De Deckker, Michael Ellwood, Neville Exon, Michael Gagan, the Botany region. The zoomorphic forms Ian Goodwin, Will Howard, Janice Lough, Malcolm McCulloch, are made from 9000 year old Forest Red Helen McGregor, Andrew Moy, Mick O’Leary, Steven Phipps, Gum and Angophora wood dredged during Greg Skilbeck, Jody Webster, Kevin Welsh and Jens Zinke the construction of the parallel runway. These forms move across the ancient river 25 Dealing with climate change through understanding past tropical systems that existed during the last ice age, which has since flooded to create Botany ocean-atmosphere climate interactions and their impacts on Bay. The presence of earth, air, fire and water marine ecosystems speak of the essential forces that shape and by Jens Zinke, Helen V. McGregor, Nerilie J. Abram, Janice M. Lough, sustain life. Photo: Patrick De Deckker. Michael Gagan, Mick O’Leary, Malcolm McCulloch, Jody Webster and Colin Woodroffe 32 SHAPE update: from Mildura to Nagoya by Andrew Lorrey, Steven J. Phipps and Helen Bostock 33 Science Meets Parliament 2015 by Claire Krause 36 ARC results BOOK REVIEW 40 Geoarchaeology of Aboriginal landscapes in semi-arid Australia by Simon Holdaway and Patricia Fanning THESIS ABSTRACTS 42 Thesis Abstracts: Romina Belli, Nathan Nagle, Samantha Oyston RECENT PUBLICATIONS

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EDITORIAL

Dear Fellow Quaternarists, As you receive this issue of QA, most likely many of you will be gearing up for (or just returning from) the INQUA Congress in Nagoya. Not only is this quadrennial meeting an excellent opportunity to get really up-to-date on recent Quaternary research developments and to catch up – both scientifically and socially – with Quaternarists from across the world, it also presents prospects for networking and career building. This may take the form of establishing new scientific collaborations and partnerships, but also to learn of new employment possibilities and to meet with potential new supervisors. The latter is particularly relevant for early and mid-career researchers who have yet to attain a permanent position in research. On this note, then, it is timely that we include a number of reports relevant to career building in this issue. Particularly thematic is Patrick Moss and Lydia Mackenzie’s piece discussing how to make the most of international conferences – and for many of our student and early postdoc members, INQUA will probably be among their first major international meetings. Helen Bostock and Claire Krause introduce ideas for a mentor scheme under the AQUA banner in this news section, and Claire also describes her experiences in learning about the relevance of her research to policy makers at the annual Science meets Parliament event in Canberra. Participation in research networks is another important way for young researchers to establish themselves in their scientific careers. In this issue, Drew Lorrey updates us on recent activities within the SHAPE initiative. We also publish two white papers by the scientific community in this issue, introduced to us by our Treasurer, Steven Phipps. The first discusses the critical role of palaeoclimate research in dealing with climate change in the future, and the kind of support and investment which is required by governing bodies to facilitate continued research in this field. The second white paper argues for continued investment in tropical zone palaeoclimate research, particularly in order to better understand the Indo-Pacific climate modes such as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole, which have a significant influence on global temperature and precipitation regimes – even within timeframes typical of electoral terms. Collective efforts such as these are particularly important for gaining the attention of policy makers and governments who control research funding. An important recent case in point is the last-minute response of the Australian government to continue funding for the National Collaborative Research and Infrastructure Strategy, under pressure from the National Research Alliance. Although this reprieve is presently only valid for 12 months, it nevertheless places some confidence in the influence of the collective scientific community on critical governmental decisions such as these. We look forward to catching up with you in Nagoya! Yours Quaternarily, Kat Fitzsimmons and Pia Atahan Editors

4 32 | 1 | PRESIDENT’S PEN

PRESIDENT’S PEN I hope you are all limbering up for the upcoming Stephen Phipps attended the inaugural Science meets Quaternary Olympics – the XIX INQUA congress in Policymakers event. With increasing pressure on research Nagoya, Japan. It is great to see that there are several funding it is important that Quaternary Scientists are dedicated Southern Hemisphere sessions which have had represented at these kinds of events and that the relevance lots of submissions. The SHAPE session has had over 47 of our science is highlighted to representatives that make abstracts and the oral session stretches over a whole day. the decisions on funding. I’m sure that Australasia will also be represented in many It has been a disappointing few months for research of the other specialist sessions throughout the congress. funding – especially in Australia where the government The meeting will also be a great opportunity to catch up has threatened to scrap the Future Fellowships funding with other Australasian and international colleagues as for mid-career scientists, following in the footsteps of the well as develop new collaborations over a sake or two! recently scrapped ARC Australian Research Fellowship For Early Career Researchers – there is a special session (ARF) and ARC Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship (QEII). and opportunities to network – check out the conference The government also held the funding for research programme. infrastructure hostage until the budget savings from the This year AQUA offered four grants of A$2250 each to higher education reforms were passed. Just as 27 research cover the costs of travel to the INQUA Congress. We had facilities were preparing to close down, there was a one a total of 36 applications from students at all stages of year reprieve on the $150 million needed to keep these their studies, covering a wide range of topics, but after research facilities up and running. However, the long some debate four of the applicants emerged as the clear term future of these facilities, that support the science of winners. We are therefore pleased to announce that 35,000 researchers, is unclear. This is on top of recent the recipients of the 2015 AQUA Travel Award are, in funding cuts to CSIRO and other research agencies. All of alphabetical order: this has significantly affected climate change research. • Shaun Eaves, Victoria University of Wellington: In New Zealand there is still ongoing frustration over Uniform summertime cooling drove glacier advances the very low success rates of Marsden funding (5-10%) across New Zealand during the Antarctic Cold Reversal and the lack of funding for early career researchers • Jessica Hinojosa, University of Otago: Holocene following the removal of the postdoctoral scheme several evolution of marine radiocarbon reservoir ages offshore years ago that funded ~90 post docs per year, leaving southwest New Zealand: Implications for water mass only a few independent postdoc fellowships available. migration and radiocarbon dating accuracy This Foundation of Research Science and Technology • Claire Krause, Australian National University: New (FRST) postdoc scheme has been replaced with the insights on tropical vegetation productivity and prestigious Rutherford Discovery Fellowships that fund atmospheric methane over the last 40,000 years from 10 early to mid-career researchers across all disciplines, speleothems in Sulawesi, Indonesia with 3-8 years post PhD experience, for 5 years. So far two Quaternary Scientists have been successful. After • Jennifer Wurtzel, Australian National University: the great launch of the New Zealand 10 year National Holocene climate variability recorded in a speleothem Science Challenges 2 years ago via a national TV and web from Sumatra, Indonesia campaign (and articles in high impact journals), with the We know that these students will do an excellent job as promise of “new money” for research in strategic areas, ambassadors for AQUA. For those of you who haven’t we are still waiting! New science projects have still not been to INQUA before I suggest you check out the article been initiated and “the best teams” of researchers are still by Patrick Moss and Lydia Mackenzie on “Making the waiting for calls for proposals as the challenges undergo most of big international conferences”. To aid AQUA some teething issues in setting up the structure, science members to meet each other we will be holding an plans, funding and governance. informal social function early on in the week at INQUA so keep an eye on your e-mail, facebook or other social The lack of stability in research funding and the risk- media to find out where and when. Unfortunately I will averse nature of current funding bodies is not conducive not be able to attend INQUA this year, but I look forward to innovative science, and is especially difficult for young to reading all about it in the next QA. scientists starting out in their careers. For this reason I hope that many of the more experienced Quaternary Over the last few months we have had several AQUA researchers will be prepared to put your names down to members attend Science meets Parliament; Duanne act as mentors for our future Quaternarists in training. White and Claire Krause (see QA article). Meanwhile, Helen Bostock AQUA President

32 | 1 5 NEWS |

NEWS

MENTORING FOR QUATERNARY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS Name: Dr Q. Researcher AND EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS Address: University of life, Australasia, Helen Bostock, NIWA, Wellington, New Zealand Southern Hemisphere Claire Krause, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Phone #: +61 1234567 Australia Skype: I_love_mud AQUA has always been a strong supporter of students and early career researchers (ECRs). As stated in our constitution: Expertise: Sediments, Geochemistry, Radiocarbon. Also happy to help with “The Association is an organisation that promotes the discussion and dissemination editing or reviewing manuscripts. of information and ideas within the various disciplines and interests relating to Quaternary Studies. The primary emphasis is on the promotion of The profiles will not be made research and training activities, particularly of new researchers in all areas of available online, but students should Quaternary Studies.” contact AQUA to find someone with specific expertise that they would This has primarily occurred through the provision of travel awards to allow like to tap in to. In the meantime students to attend local and international meetings and present their research we would like to encourage students results. The local biennial AQUA meetings have always been a relatively to have the confidence to contact relaxed forum to allow the students to build their confidence in giving talks, researchers that they would like or presenting their posters, to a friendly and supportive audience. We have help from – or approach them at also encouraged students and ECRs to get involved in the running of AQUA, conferences. Most researchers will with several ECRs on the AQUA committee providing a voice for the younger be flattered to have a student ask for researchers. constructive help and advice. But is there more that we could be doing for the next generation of If you have any feedback on setting Quaternary researchers? up the mentoring network, or other One suggestion that has recently come up during committee discussions suggestions of what AQUA can do is the idea of setting up a mentoring scheme. Many universities have for students and ECRs then please mentoring networks, but international professional organisations are also get in touch. Please also email increasingly establishing mentoring programs, such as the Earth Science your brief profiles to: Women’s Network (http://eswnonline.org/). In the modern era of increasing [email protected]. telecommunications there are now no restrictions as to the location of mentors and students – I regularly skype with colleagues and students in different locations and timezones. NEW ARRIVALS FOR AQUA Many of us have had mentors – whether formally or informally during our MEMBERS careers – or researchers that have inspired us, or allowed us to brainstorm our We would like to congratulate several sometimes crazy ideas without laughing too hard! While for some of us our members of the committee on their supervisors and advisors are great mentors, it is often useful to have a mentor new babies: that is removed from the immediate project and has a different but related Scott Mooney and his partner had background, as these people may approach the problem from a different angle, a little boy Arthur George Mooney- or use a different technique. Some students are confident enough to approach Fitzgerald on the 30 December researchers and ask for advice – and they should be encouraged to do this, but others may not know where to start as they have not yet developed a network. Duanne White and his partner had a little boy Felix White on the 2 January All mentor relationships will work differently and while some may be a one-off conversation, others will be an ongoing relationship. Some will Our AQUA President Helen Bostock be a relationship where the mentor is providing technical help or editing and her partner had a little girl, manuscripts, while others will be more about providing career advice, building Freya, on May 10. Congratulations, general confidence. Therefore it is unclear exactly how to set a mentoring Helen! scheme up. We suggest that if you are happy to mentor or offer advice on a particular subject that you send in your details and AQUA will keep a database of potential mentors that are happy to help students and ECRs (see following example).

6 32 | 1 The advent of the Anthropocene in Australasia by Helen C. Bostock, David J. Lowe, Richard REPORTS Gillespie, Rebecca Priestley, Rewi M. Newnham and Scott D. Mooney

THE ADVENT OF THE ANTHROPOCENE IN AUSTRALASIA | REPORT

The advent of the Anthropocene in Australasia Helen C. Bostock1, David J. Lowe2, Richard Gillespie3, Rebecca Priestley4, Rewi M. Newnham5, Scott D. Mooney6 1. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Private Bag 14901, Wellington 6021, New Zealand 2. Earth Sciences, School of Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, MEET A MEMBER OF University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand THE AQUA EXECUTIVE 3. Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, COMMITTEE University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia, STEVEN PHIPPS: and Department of Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History TREASURER, AQUA and Language, Australian National University, Acton 2601, Australia Steven grew up in the wilds of 4. Science in Society group, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, the UK, before being lured to Wellington 6140, New Zealand Gondwanaland by the ancient 5. School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Victoria University of mountains and forests of New Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand Zealand. After experimenting with a few different career options, and 6. School of Biological and Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW, discovering a love of fine wine along Kensington, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia the way, he eventually completed INTRODUCTION a PhD in climate modelling at the As early as the late 19th Century, several scientists had suggested that humans University of Tasmania in 2006. were starting to influence the physical environment of planet Earth (e.g. Marsh, Subsequently, he came to realise 1864; Stoppani, 1873; Arrhenius, 1896; Chamberlain, 1897). This idea was that simulating past climates is only resurrected and expanded in 2000 by Paul Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning a worthwhile exercise if your model chemist, and the late Eugene Stoermer, a professor of biology specialising is constrained by real‑world data. in diatoms, who suggested that we had left the Holocene and entered the Thus he embarked on a weird and “Anthropocene” (Crutzen and Stoermer, 2000). As summarised by Steffen wonderful journey with all the weird et al. (2011) and Wolfe et al. (2013), these iconoclastic scientists were referring and wonderful members of the to the Anthropocene as the interval of demonstrable human alteration of global Australasian Quaternary research biogeochemical cycles, beginning subtly in the late 18th Century following community. In 2010, that journey James Watt’s invention of the coal-fired steam engine, and accelerating took him to Stradbroke Island and markedly in the mid-20th Century (termed “The Great Acceleration”). Thus his first AQUA Biennial Meeting. Crutzen and Stoermer (2000) argued that the Anthropocene should be an There was a vacancy for Treasurer epoch, and for a starting date at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and, as he has always embraced (Monastersky, 2015). quantitative approaches, he thought that he should put his hand up. The term Anthropocene is now regularly used in the geological/environmental Thus began an equally weird and literature, appearing in nearly 200 peer-reviewed articles in 2012, and three wonderful journey through AQUA’s new journals have been launched over the last few years specifically focussed finances. However, after five years in on this topic, namely The Anthropocene Review, Anthropocene, and Elementa: the job, he is finding it increasingly Science of the Anthropocene. In 2014, the Geological Society, London, published hard to find the time to count all of A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene (Waters et al., 2014), a 321-page AQUA’s accumulated wealth. At the volume devoted to the subject. The problem is that the Anthropocene has not upcoming AGM, he will therefore yet been formally defined and different disciplines (and even scientists within be handing over his responsibilities the same discipline) have different viewpoints as to when the Anthropocene to whomever is sufficiently gullible began, if at all (Table 1). In addition, most perspectives on this issue are derived and enthusiastic to accept this from the Northern Hemisphere, although Brown et al. (2013) and Ellis et al. critical role. He is looking forward (2013) and some others have taken a more global viewpoint. to continuing to get his hands dirty with the proxy data, and notes that he is available for fieldwork.

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Table 1: Dates or ages proposed in the literature for the start of the Anthropocene, arranged in chronological order. Adapted from Lewis & Maslin (2015)

EVENT AGE OR DATE GEOGRAPHICAL REFERENCE EXTENT 1 Use of fire Early Pleistocene Global but highly Roebroeks and Villa (2011); Glikson (2013) localised and diachronous 2 Megafaunal extinction 50,000-600 yrs BP Global but diachronous Barnosky (2014)

3 Origin of agriculture ~11,000 yrs BP to SW Asia then global Smith and Zeder (2013) present

4 Intensification of ~8,000 yrs BP to present Eurasia then global Ruddiman (2013) (see also Monastersky, 2015) agriculture

5 New-Old World collision AD 1492-1800 Eurasia – Americas Lewis and Maslin (2015)

6 Industrial Revolution AD 1760 to present NW Europe then global Crutzen and Stoermer (2000)

7 Tambora eruption AD 1815 (April) Global: synchronous Smith (2014) (Indonesia) sulphate fallout at both poles 8 Great Acceleration AD 1950 Many local events, Waters et al. (2014); Steffen et al. (2015) global influence

9 Nuclear weapon AD 1945 to present Global Steffen et al. (2007); Zalasiewicz et al. (2011; 2015); detonation (peak AD 1964) Wolfe et al. (2013)

HOW TO DEFINE THE ANTHROPOCENE AND WHEN IT SHOULD START In 2016, members of the International Commission of Stratigraphy (ICS), as custodians of the formal Geologic Time Scale, will decide whether the Holocene epoch has given way to the Anthropocene and, if so, where the boundary between the two should be placed. As well as the issue of timing, the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG, chaired by Jan Zalasiewicz) of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, which advises ICS, is to recommend which hierarchical status the Anthropocene should attain if adopted. If it is to be a geological “epoch” (i.e. at the same hierarchical level as the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs) then it would lie within the Quaternary Period and follow the (terminated) Holocene Epoch. Alternatively, it could be considered at a lower hierarchical level such as “age”, implying it is a subdivision of the ongoing Holocene Epoch (Monastersky, 2015; see also http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/ workinggroups/anthropocene/). At the same time the ICS will decide whether to formally adopt a proposal to subdivide the Holocene into three sub- epochs (Walker et al., 2012; Gibbard, 2015). This parallel effort to subdivide the Holocene is relevant to the Anthropocene question because it clearly characterises the Holocene as being based on natural climatic/environmental events, thus leaving open the possibility of a subsequent epoch defined entirely by the global signature of significant human impact on the environment. The Holocene was formally ratified by the ICS in 2006. It is defined as the most recent epoch of the Quaternary Period, being broadly the time since the first signs of climatic warming at the end of the Younger Dryas/Greenland Stadial 1 cold phase (11,700 calendar years before the year AD 2000) through to the present day (Walker et al., 2009). The official boundary of the Holocene is defined in the Greenland NGRIP ice core at 1492.45 m depth (marked by an abrupt shift in deuterium excess values), and selected auxiliary lacustrine and marine records, including sediments in Lake Maratoto in northern New Zealand representing the Australasian parastratotype. Holocene stratigraphic records, as well as providing evidence of climate and sea-level change, geomorphological and hydrological processes, vegetational changes, and faunal migrations, also contain archaeological data that attest to the development of society, and the evolving relationships between people and the environment (e.g. Walker et al., 2012; Roberts, 2014). A key problem in attempting to define the

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Anthropocene is to distinguish between the detection of (1803) (e.g. King, 2003). For the next ~100 years human impacts and their distribution in time and space, there is considerable evidence from historical and and the point at which the magnitude of human impacts palaeoenvironmental archives that the European settlers on the Earth system (key biogeochemical cycles) exceeds had a considerable impact on the landscape, with massive the influence of the natural systems and which can be deforestation of the east coast forests especially, leading recognised in the context of geological time (Steffen et al., to changes in the vegetation, increased charcoal in the 2011; Wolfe et al., 2013). In a nutshell, the Holocene archives, and large increases in sedimentation in lakes, might be seen as totally adequate to cover the former, estuaries, and near-shore environments (Haberle et al., and the Anthropocene should perhaps be used to cover 2006). A significant acceleration of the impact of the latter. these and other land-use activities occurred in the 1950s (e.g. Douglas et al., 2010; Gehrels et al., 2012; AUSTRALASIAN PERSPECTIVE Macreadie et al., 2012). In this article we present an Australasian perspective, and invite your feedback and comments, which will PACIFIC ISLANDS AND NEW ZEALAND be compiled and sent to AWG to help advise the ICS. In comparison with the early arrival of humans in We do not suggest that Australasian evidence should Australia, many of the Pacific islands were only necessarily be at the forefront of defining the onset or discovered and populated by seafaring Polynesians in formal stratigraphic status of the Anthropocene, but that the Late Holocene, with colonisation of West Polynesia the evidence from our region should be compatible with, from around 200 BC, central East Polynesia from around and should inform, any globally applicable definitions. AD 900-1100, and Hawaii, Easter Island (Rapanui), Because Australia (and Papua New Guinea) and New and South Polynesia, from around AD 1200-1300 Zealand (and other Pacific islands of Polynesia) have very (Anderson, 2015a). The earliest arrival in New Zealand different Quaternary histories, they are treated separately (part of South Polynesia) was not until the 13th Century, in the brief overviews below. possibly around AD 1280 (Lowe and Pittari, 2014). Why New Zealand was settled so late in prehistory is debated, AUSTRALIA AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA but, as well as being a remote archipelago, its discovery Based on the dating of occupation and burial sites, has been linked to the requirement of sophisticated sea humans arrived in Australia and Papua New Guinea craft and navigation and was possibly associated with a around 45,000—50,000 years ago (e.g. Roberts and peak in El Nino frequencies (e.g. Anderson et al., 2006; Jones, 2000; Turney et al., 2001a; Bowler et al., 2003; Anderson, 2015a, 2015b), or just general changes in the Allen and O’Connell 2014). Around this time there is wind systems during this period (Goodwin et al., 2014). also considerable evidence for significant changes in The early Polynesians (who culturally became Maori in fluvial hydrology and lake levels (Mageeet al., 2004; New Zealand) brought with them domesticated plants Cohen et al., 2015), evidence for charcoal and biological and animals (dogs and rats), although some of the tropical turnover (Turney et al., 2001b; Mooney et al., 2011), and plants were not suitable for the New Zealand climate. for the extinction of the megafauna (Roberts et al., 2001; Evidence from peat, lake, and marine-derived pollen Gillespie, 2008). There is still considerable debate in records, lacustrine sedimentation records, and bones of Australia, partly due to the sparse distribution and often the commensal Pacific rat Rattus exulans, rat-nibbled poor quality dating of megafaunal sites, whether human seed cases and snail-shells, fire records, ancient DNA, hunting and associated practices, including use of fire, and archaeological studies show that Polynesians had a or climate change, or some combination of both, caused substantial impact on the landscape from around 700 the demise of the megafauna (e.g. Miller et al., 2005; years ago (e.g. Higham and Hogg, 1997; Wilmshurst, Gillespie et al., 2006; Brook et al., 2007, 2013; Prideaux 1997; Ogden et al., 1998; Schmidt and Higham, 1998; et al., 2010; Rule et al., 2012; Murphy et al., 2012; Price, Higham et al., 1999; McGlone and Wilmshurst, 1999; 2012; Wroe et al., 2013; Cohen et al., 2015). During the Brook, 2000; Anderson, 2002, 2005, 2013; Wilmshurst early to mid-Holocene period there is evidence for plant et al., 2008, 2011, 2014; Lowe, 2011; Perry et al., 2012; domestication in the highlands of Papua New Guinea Jacomb et al., 2014; Anderson, 2015c). There is also (Denham et al., 2003; Haberle, 2007), but Aboriginals on considerable evidence that hunting of the local wildlife mainland Australia primarily remained hunter-gatherers. in New Zealand lead to the extinction of a species of The first Europeans landed on Australia in the 17th sea lion and many birds (~ 40 species) (Collins et al., Century, but large-scale European colonisation did 2014), including several megafauna: all nine species not occur until 1788 with the development of the of moa (extinct from AD 1440 ± 20; Perry et al., 2014) penal colonies around Sydney and the satellite convict and Haast’s Eagle (extinct around AD 1400; Tennyson settlements on Norfolk Island (from 1789) and Hobart and Martinson, 2006).

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Abel Tasman was the first known European to reach unequivocal evidence for fundamental shifts in the state New Zealand in AD 1642 with evidence of possible and functioning of the Earth system that exceed the range contact by further Dutch explorers after AD 1705 ± 5 of variability of the Holocene, and which are driven by (Palmer et al., 2013). Following the arrival of Cook in human activities. Thus these authors consider that the 1769, there is ample evidence for explorers, missionaries, beginning of the Great Acceleration is “by far the most whalers, sailors and traders, with small whaling and convincing for a start date for the Anthropocene”. sealing stations around the country from the early 19th Century (e.g. King, 2003). The Treaty of Waitangi was THE ATOM BOMB EFFECT signed in 1840 and large pakeha (primarily British) The mid-20th Century was also the start of the nuclear settlements continued to develop during the 19th Century. age. The first nuclear bomb was detonated by the Further dramatic changes in the vegetation occurred United States of America (USA) on 16 July 1945. In the during this European era, as observed from historical subsequent nuclear arms race, first the USA and Soviet as well as geological and palaeoenvironmental archives. Union, and then the United Kingdom, France, and Pollen records in particular indicate resurgence in forest China, began developing and testing nuclear weapons of clearances by early pakeha settlers and accompanying ever-increasing size. The first thermonuclear bomb (or introduction of a wide range of exotic plants. The large- hydrogen bomb) was detonated by the USA in 1952, this scale development of grasslands occurred in the late 19th new type of bomb, which the Soviet Union first tested in and early 20th centuries with the so-called “grasslands 1953, produced much larger yields of fission products and revolution”, which lead to forest clearance on lowlands blasted radioactive isotopes high into the stratosphere through to steeplands, and the widespread and efficacious where they spread around the world and were deposited drainage of wetlands (e.g. King, 2003; Brooking and as nuclear (radioactive) fallout. Pawson, 2011; Cushman, 2013; Brooking and Wood, 2013; It was a New Zealand scientist, Athol Rafter, who first Park, 2013). Accelerating soil erosion and measurable observed that nuclear weapon detonations – particularly environmental geochemical influences are recorded in the hydrogen bomb tests – were significantly increasing landscapes and in lake and marine sediments from the levels of radiocarbon in the atmosphere. In a 1957 paper 1920s onwards (e.g. Rawlence, 1984; Hume et al., 1989; he coined the phrase “the atom bomb effect” (Rafter and Page et al., 2004; Augustinus et al., 2006; Gomez et al., Fergusson, 1957) and outlined how nuclear weapons tests 2007; Gehrels et al., 2012; Basher, 2013), with a markedly had doubled atmospheric radiocarbon in the Northern increased intensification of land use from the 1950s, Hemisphere and increased Southern Hemisphere levels including the advent of aerial topdressing (from 1948-49), by 60%. These increases produced a sudden spike of leading eventually to widespread changes (degradation) in “bomb carbon” in the 1960s (Figure 1). water quality (e.g. Pawson and Brooking, 2013). During 1961-62, many high-yield weapons were tested THE GREAT ACCELERATION by the USA and Soviet Union, after which both countries It is clear that the 1950s was an important decade signed the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty (tests by France, for both New Zealand and Australia, and it is also an and then China, continued). In both northern and important time globally, with a major expansion of southern hemispheres, peak strontium-90 (90Sr) and human population after World War II, intensification of caesium-137 (137Cs) levels were reached in 1964. The land use, and the development of many new technologies two-year delay between peak testing and peak deposition and materials (plastic, artificial fertilizers, advent of was due to the long residence time of fallout in the new breeds of crops such as rice, etc.). This period, as stratosphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, peak 90Sr and noted earlier, has been called the “Great Acceleration” 137Cs deposition averaged 40% of Northern Hemisphere (e.g. Wolfe et al., 2013; Monastersky, 2015; Steffen et al., levels, with higher levels of deposition in areas with 2015). These changes have had a major impact on our higher rainfall (Matthews, 1993). atmosphere and climate with atmospheric CO2 and methane rapidly increasing after the 1950s. It is now GOLDEN SPIKE (GLOBAL STRATOTYPE estimated that nearly half of the nitrogen in our bodies SECTION AND POINT: GSSP) OR GLOBAL AGE was produced in a factory using the Haber-Bosch process. (GLOBAL STANDARD STRATIGRAPHIC AGE: In addition, ever-enduring plastic can now be found in GSSA), OR BOTH, FOR THE ANTHROPOCENE? all parts of the Earth – the current estimates suggest For the Anthropocene to become a formal geological the ratio of plastic to marine life in the world’s major unit it needs to be recorded in the geological, sediment, marine gyres is 6 to 1 by weight (Vince, 2014; Kidwell, or ice records (preferably all of these archives) as a 2015; Young, 2015). Steffen et al. (2015) emphasise that stratigraphically significant single global event (or at only beyond the mid-20th Century acceleration is there least covering a significant proportion of the globe), and

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100

360

320 (ppmv) ambora eruption 2 T CO 280 50 1800 C above theoretical 1950 value (%) 14 1200 Excess (ppbv) 4

CH 600 0

1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 0 Years AD 320

Figure 1: Atmospheric radiocarbon abundance, showing the fossil fuel effect and nuclear bomb effect (Gillespie, 1984). 280 O (ppbv) 2 N preferably not time-transgressive (i.e. not diachronous). If we accept that the Anthropocene onset must be (largely) 240 globally discernible, the Australasian evidence outlined 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 above precludes definitions 1-5 (Table 1). If we take Date (years AD) definition 6 then the rise in CO2 in the ice cores is clear, Figure 2: Changes in greenhouse gases recorded in ice cores in the but it is difficult to define precisely. The initial change last 1000 years with the date of the Tambora eruption (1815) indicated in concentrations is gradual, reflecting the sluggish and (vertical line). Coloured symbols represent data from Antarctic ice variable spread in the use of coal, starting in northwest cores: red boxes = Law Dome, green circles = Siple, purple triangles = Europe and slowly spreading to North America and EPICA DML, blue boxes = South Pole; black boxes are data from GISP2, Greenland. Atmospheric CO2 measurements from Mauna Loa are also then globally. So there is no abrupt change in CO2 or plotted (solid blue line) for the last ~50 years. Figure from Smith (2014), other products associated with the burning of fossil after Wolff (2011). Reproduced with acknowledgement and thanks to fuels (Lewis and Maslin, 2015), but the marked rise in The Geological Society, London, and to Victoria C. Smith. (Please see the greenhouse gases nevertheless is evident from the early electronic issue for a colour version of this figure. Electronic issues are 1800s (Figure 2). One other suggestion for a golden available on the AQUA website and through our ePublisher, Informit). spike (GSSP) for the early 19th Century (definition 7), the basis of recent discoveries of cryptotephra deposits relating chronostratigraphically to this greenhouse rise, (sparse glass-shard concentrations not visible as layers: has been fallout from the Tambora volcanic eruption Lowe, 2011; Davies, 2015) at distances >7000 km from (Indonesia), which occurred in April 1815, and resulted the eruption source (e.g. Lane et al., 2013; Jensen et al., in a global cooling and “the year without a summer” 2014), that glass shards from the Tambora eruption are in the Northern Hemisphere (e.g. Fischer et al., 2007; identifiable as cryptotephras in terrestrial and marine Smith, 2014). More importantly for generating a global sediments over wide areas of the Earth’s surface, hence marker, the eruption produced an instantaneous, potentially providing a definitive isochron or marker synchronous, and recognisable aerosol-derived sulphate ‘bed’ on a hemispheric scale. Thus it could be argued that spike in the ice cores of both Greenland and Antarctica the Tambora eruption deserves serious consideration as and in glacier ice in North and South America, and a the golden spike because it is a demonstrably globally distinct signal in dendrochronological records (Briffa synchronous signal that ties in with associated evidence et al., 1998; Oppenheimer, 2003; Smith, 2014). Probable of increasing human impact, namely the atmospheric fallout from Tambora in New Zealand was identified greenhouse gas rise from the early 1800s (Figure 2) by Gehrels et al. (2008) from measurements of lead (Smith, 2014). Another idea is that this eruption event (Pb) concentrations and isotope values in salt-marsh could simply be seen as a global marker for the start of the sediments in southeast South Island. It is likely, on ~150 year transition from the Holocene to Anthropocene.

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We would argue, however, that the definition(s) that relate information flows from DNA, to RNA, to protein, and best overall to the evidence in the Australasian region are thence to phenotype (a process known as the ‘Central definitions 8 and 9, respectively the “Great Acceleration” Dogma’ of cell biology), is a major development in the combined with the “Nuclear Age” at around AD 1950 course of evolutionary history. Because such manipulation (i.e. between AD 1945 and 1965). It is clear that globally “has the potential to expand the power of gene technology there have been many changes in land use and technology to whole-Earth scales”, Gillings and Paulsen (2014) and other developments from the mid-20th Century that concluded that “DNA technology will be a powerful force have led to fundamental shifts in the functioning of the in our future, and for dealing with the Anthropocene.” Earth system to a point where many biophysical indicators Finally, some have proposed that a GSSA alone may now exceed limits of Holocene variability. There is now be more appropriate at this time to define the start an unprecedented “emergent, planet-scale coupling, via of the Anthropocene because the community is still globalisation, between the socio-economic system and fleshing out the full range of physical, chemical, and the biophysical Earth System”, according to Steffen et al. biological phenomena associated with the postulated (2015). The global fallout of bomb-test radioisotopes Holocene-Anthropocene transition (Zalasiewicz et al., has the potential to create a truly global marker horizon 2011; 2015; Wolfe et al., 2013), and hence a GSSP can for the Anthropocene (Zalasiewicz et al., 2011; 2015). wait. However, other scientists completely disagree with The nuclear weapon detonations introduced a range of all these proposals and believe that we are still in the radioactive isotopes that can be traced in soil, sediment, Holocene and that the “anthropocene” should remain ice, tree-ring, and coral archives. Caesium-137 and an informal unit (e.g. Autin and Holbrook, 2012; Gale strontium-90 were first detected in soils in 1952, while and Hoare, 2012; Smith and Zeder, 2013; Gibbard and there is evidence that bomb radiocarbon in geological Walker, 2014; Ruddiman et al., 2015). In this case, archives peaked in 1965 in the Southern Hemisphere, the name would continue to be used in the same way slightly offset by a couple of years from the Northern as such archaeological terms as Neolithic and Bronze Hemisphere peak in 1963 and that of the tropics in 1964 Age (Monastersky, 2015). Another view is that we are (Hua et al., 2013; Zalasiewicz et al., 2015). Unfortunately, in the transition towards the Anthropocene and need not all of these bomb isotopes will be useful for the a much longer perspective to assess “the character of tracing of this event in the geological future because 90Sr the fully developed Anthropocene” and it should be left and 137Cs have very short half-lives (28 years and 30 to future generations to decide (with hindsight) when years, respectively), while radiocarbon is slightly longer the Anthropocene began (Wolff, 2014). For example, with a half-life of 5,730 years. However, several other Ruddiman et al. (2105) suggested that future changes isotopes, such as plutonium-239 and iodine-129, have – such as species extinctions and ocean acidification longer half-lives of 24,110 years and 15.7 million years, (e.g. Drake et al., 2014) – are projected to be much larger respectively, and hence the latter should therefore be than those already seen but are difficult to predict. evident in the geological record effectively indefinitely (Hancock et al., 2014). Please send your thoughts and feedback to Helen Bostock ([email protected]) by 1 September 2015. Others have argued that the date of around AD 1950 postdates the upward inflection of atmospheric CO2 from Issues to address include: fossil fuel combustion in ice cores by more than a century 1. Should the Anthropocene be formalised as part of the (Fig. 2). However, it is clear from the records that there Geological Time Scale? is also an acceleration in the increase of atmospheric CO 2 2. If adopted, when should it start? at this time (Steffen et al., 2015), with evidence that this is the first interval when anthropogenic greenhouse gas 3. If adopted, what status should a formally defined forcings dominated over natural climate forcings (Hansen Anthropocene have in the hierarchy of the Geological Time Scale: epoch, age, or something else? et al., 2008). Thus this ~AD 1950 date fits with the postulated definition of the advent of the Anthropocene ACKNOWLEDGEMENT as being the point at which the magnitude of human Mike Walker (UK) is thanked for inspiring HCB to lead impacts on Earth system (key biogeochemical cycles) the writing of this article after a talk and discussion at the exceeds the influence of the natural systems (Wolfeet al., INTIMATE meeting, Zaragoza, Spain 2014. 2013). Taking a rather different, namely microbiological, viewpoint, Gillings and Paulsen (2014) suggested that the ‘Great Acceleration’ be assigned a formal starting date of 1953 (when the structure of DNA was first published) on the grounds that human manipulation of the biological

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Stoppani A., 1873. Corso de Geologia Vol M., Ellis, M.A., Snelling, A.M. (eds) frames debate over the extinction II. Bernardoni and Brigola, Milan, 2014. A stratigraphical basis for the of megafauna in Sahul (Pleistocene Italy. Anthropocene. Geological Society, Australia-New Guinea). Proceedings Tennyson, A., Martinson, P. 2006. London, Special Publication 395: of the National Academy of Sciences Extinct Birds of New Zealand. Te Papa 1-321. of the USA 110: 8777-8781. Press, Wellington. Wilmshurst, J.M. 1997. The impact of Young H. 2015. The hitchiker’s guide to Turney, C.S.M., Bird, M.I., Fifield, L.K., human settlement on vegetation and the Anthropocene: finding our place Roberts, R.G., Smith, M.A., Dortch, C.E., soil stability in Hawke’s Bay, New in the world we created. Science 347: Grün, R., Lawson, E., Ayliffe, L.K., Miller, Zealand. New Zealand Journal of 955. G.H., Dortch, J., Cresswell, R.G. 2001. Botany 35: 97-111. Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Haywood, Early human occupation at Devil’s Lair, Wilmshurst, J.M., Higham T.F.G. A., Ellis, M. 2011. The Anthropocene: southwestern Australia 50,000 years 2004. Using rat-gnawed seeds to a new epoch of geological time? ago. Quaternary Research 55: 3-13. independently date the arrival of Philosophical Transactions of the Turney, C.S.M., Bird, M.I., Fifield, L.K., Pacific rats and humans to New Royal Society A 369: 835-841. Kershaw, A.P., Cresswell, R.G., Santos, Zealand. The Holocene 14: 801-806. Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C.N., Williams, G.M., di Tada, M.L., Hausladen, P.A., Wilmshurst, J.M., Anderson, A.J., M., Barnosky, A.D., Cearreta, A., Youping, Z., 2001b. Development Higham, T.F.G., Worthy, T.H. 2008. Crutzen, P., Ellis, E., Ellis, M.A., of a robust 14C chronology for Dating the late prehistoric dispersal of Fairchild, I.J., Grinevald J., Haff, P.K., Lynch’s Crater (North Queensland, Polynesians to New Zealand using the Hajdas, I., Leinfelder, R., McNeill, Australia) using different pretreatment commmensal Pacific rat. Proceedings J., Odada, E.O., Poirier, C., Richter, strategies. Radiocarbon 43: 45-54. of the National Academy of Sciences D., Steffen, W., Summerhayes, C., Vince, G. 2014. Adventures in the of the USA 105: 7676-7680. Syvitski, J.P.M., Vidas, D., Wagreich, Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart Wilmshurst, J.M., Hunt, T.L., Lipo, C.P. M., Wing, S.L., Wolfe, A.P., Zhisheng, of the Planet we Made. Milkweed Anderson, A.J. 2011. High-precision A., Oreskes, N., 2015. When did editions, 465 pp. radiocarbon dating shows recent and the Anthropocene begin? A mid- twentieth century boundary level is Walker, M., Johnsen, S., Rasmussen, S.O., rapid initial human colonization of stratigraphically optimal. Quaternary Popp, T., Steffensen, J.-P., Gibbard, East Polynesia. Proceedings of the International, http://dx.doi. P., Hoek, W., Lowe, J.J., Andrews, National Academy of Sciences of the org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.045. J., Björck, S.; Cwynar, L., Hughen, USA 108: 1815-1820. K., Kershaw, P., Kromer, B., Litt, T., Wilmshurst, J.M., Moar, N.T., Wood, Lowe, D.J., Nakagawa, T., Newnham, J.R., Bellingham, P.J., Findlater, R.M., Schwander, J. 2009. Formal A.M., Robinson, J.J., Stone, C. 2014. definition and dating of the GSSP Use of pollen and ancient DNA as (Global Stratotype Section and Point) conservation baselines for offshore for the base of the Holocene using islands in New Zealand. Conservation the Greenland NGRIP ice core, and Biology 28: 202-212. selected auxiliary records. Journal of Wolfe, A.P., Hobbs, W.O., Birks, Quaternary Science 24: 3-17. H.H., Briner, J.P., Holmgren, S.U., Walker, M.J.C., Berkelhammer, M., Bjorck, Ingólfsson, Ó., Kaushal, S.S., Miller, S., Cwynar, L.C., Fisher, D.A., Long, A.J., G.H., Pagani, M., Saros, Jasmine E., Lowe, J.J., Newnham, R.M., Rasmussen, Vinebrooke, R.D. 2013. Stratigraphic S.O., Weiss, H. 2012. Formal subdivision expressions of the Holocene- of the Holocene Series/Epoch: a Anthropocene transition revealed in discussion paper by a Working sediments from remote lakes. Earth Group of INTIMATE (Integration Science Reviews 116: 17-34. of ice-core, marine and terrestrial Wolff, E.W. 2011. Greenhouse gases in records) and the Subcommission on the Earth system: a palaeoclimate Quaternary Stratigraphy (International perspective. Philosophical Commission on Stratigraphy). Journal Transactions of the Royal Society A of Quaternary Science 27: 649-659. 369: 2133-2147. Waters, C.N., Zalasiewicz, J.A., Williams, Wolff, E.W. 2014. Ice sheets and the Anthropocene. Geological Society, London, Special Publication 395: 255-263. Wroe, S., Field, J.H., Archer, M., Grayson, D.K., Price, G.J., Louys, J., Faith, J.T, Webb, G.E., Davison, I., Mooney, S.D. 2013. Climate change

16 32 | 1 A Quaternarist’s guide to attending INQUA by Patrick Moss and Lydia Mackenzie

A QUATERNARIST’S GUIDE TO ATTENDING INQUA | REPORT

A Quaternarist’s guide to attending INQUA Patrick Moss1 and Lydia Mackenzie1 1 School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, University of Queensland, Australia

With INQUA 2016 in Nagoya rapidly approaching we and highlight the key presentations/posters you want to thought it would be a good idea to provide a guide to see. You will be overwhelmed by some very interesting fellow AQUA members (particularly first-time INQUA presentations that will often conflict – so identify the attendees), outlining what to expect at the INQUA key ones you want to see, check out the room size (often congress, as well as some general tricks and tips for ECRs popular talks will have an audience lining up outside attending and presenting at conferences. This report may the room) and estimate the time it will take to move to also contain something that more experienced conference another room. The size of the INQUA Congress (often attendees should take note of as well. 1000+) can make this a bit daunting, particularly for participants new to the wonderful world of the Quaternary WHAT IS AN INQUA so we have included some general tips and tricks (which An INQUA Congress is the Quaternarists’ version of also apply to other conferences). the Olympics: they are held every four years, bidding for them is highly competitive, and they highlight the KNOW YOUR HEROES work of leading Quaternary scientists. In fact you will Do you want to work with a particular lab group in be overwhelmed by the volume of interesting talks and Europe? Is there an author who keeps popping up in your posters, often over four or five concurrent sessions, and reference collection? The INQUA Congress is the perfect by the mass movement of people between sessions. This place for some serious stalking (aka ‘networking’). Do will be Lydia’s second INQUA conference and Patrick’s your research so you can pick your personal hero from the fourth, and both of us agree that INQUA is an extremely crowds. What are they working on at the moment? Any valuable experience, not only in terms of highlighting new and exciting grants they might just need a post-doc our research, but also to catch up on the newest ideas for? Just don’t be creepy about it and you might be able to in Quaternary Science, and to meet with old friends share a drink with them at the Icebreaker or share a table and colleagues (often not having seen them since the at the conference dinner! last INQUA!). THE THREE P’S OF PRESENTING: PREPARE, The INQUA Congress runs over eight days. The first day PREPARE, PREPARE begins with an Icebreaker in the evening (in INQUA Don’t be ‘that guy’ who can’t go hiking/drinking/ 2015’s case, a Sunday), which is a great opportunity to exploring because you haven’t prepared your presentation. meet fellow Quaternarists in an informal setting and is Quaternary Scientists like the outdoors and chances are followed by three days of conference sessions (including you’re going to want to make the most of the location the conference opening, plenary sessions and INQUA and colleagues. Don’t make the mistake of trying to write Commission meetings). A day is then devoted to the your talk while on the train to the conference venue, Mid-Conference excursions (if you have had the foresight don’t analyse your data in the hotel late at night or to join), to self-guided excursions (for Reno 2003, Patrick memorise your speech the morning of your talk. Enjoy and colleagues hired a car and drove around Lake Tahoe) your partially-funded trip and feel smug when drinking or simply to recover. The final three days return to the that cold Sapporo Beer the night before your presentation conference sessions. There are also a range of pre– and rather than panicking. This year the INQUA ECR team post-conference field trips that can be undertaken. Also, are running a practice seminar early in the conference. all of the INQUA Commissions are open to interested Make the most of it: come along to meet other ECR’s and people and there are a range of formal and informal events get helpful advice on your presentation. You could also occurring every night of the conference. seek out your advisor or peers (if they are attending) for a Our key piece of advice is to enjoy all that is on offer with practice seminar as well. this smorgasbord of Quaternary Science – but it is also important to pace yourself, since at some stage your head may explode from all the information flying past! Another key suggestion is to go through the conference program

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ORAL PRESENTATION you won’t experience the last minute preparation that is Most conferences outline a time for oral presentations often a feature of oral presentations. – stick to it. The audience will appreciate it! Rather Lydia’s favourite ‘what not to do’ poster example comes than presenting your entire PhD in 12 minutes, pick from INQUA 2011 where she spotted a presenter feverishly a particular question/section that you think will be scribbling information onto their crowded poster while it appropriate for the audience. Too much information was hung on the wall. A clear and concise poster is the way crammed into one talk can confuse your audience and to go – keep the text to a minimum. Every year the School end in a tangled heap of facts, figures and frustration. of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management Even the most experienced presenters still get nervous. at The University of Queensland runs a poster competition; Make sure that you have water present if you suffer it’s always the simple, uncluttered and eye-catching ones from ‘dry mouth syndrome’, and that you pace your that win the prize (check out the GPEM website for last presentation (not too fast or slow – the Goldilocks year’s winners). The idea is not to data-dump your entire principle of ‘just write’). PhD onto a poster but to entice your readers to learn more. Rather than simply saying ‘thank you’ on your final slide, How will viewers remember YOUR poster at the end of the why not have a summary of your talk and your contact day? Try having business cards, printouts or a QR code that details? The final slide lingers on the screen during can be downloaded. This makes it easy for people to access question time, allowing people to reflect on your key the information and come back to it after the conference points and (possibly) to write down your details. hangover has lifted. Be prepared for questions at the end of the talk. Come up Also take the time to stand at your poster during the with a few that you may be asked and plan a response. session. Maybe you won’t have as many visitors as the Thanking your interrogator audience for their thoughtful Megafauna Extinction poster but every person you get to questions is a good way to buy time to formulate a concise talk to makes the difference. Have a quick 3 minute spiel answer. And be honest if you don’t know the answer. In pre-planned in case your audience wants to know more. general the audience is very interested in what you are presenting and several new collaborations (or postdocs) ASSOCIATION have emerged after a good INQUA talk. Finding people at an international conference can And finally…make sure your format WILL work on the be tricky. Luckily the AQUA community will be well computers provided BEFORE it’s your turn. represented like they were at the last INQUA in Bern (Fig 1). So make sure you find out if there are any POSTERS events happening after hours. There is also a range Poster sessions can be a great way to talk to people who of Commission Meetings, including the INQUA ECR are interested in your work. The best part – they come Commission who will be arranging a number of social to you! So make it easy for your potential viewers to find events and practice sessions. These will be posted on the you, to take away the key points and to contact you later. facebook site. Also each INQUA commission has a social The other key advantage over a seminar is that you have to media page with updates leading up to the conference. finalise your poster prior to arriving at the conference and Make sure you join so you don’t miss out.

Figure 1. The Australasian contingent at the Bern 2011 INQUA Congress

18 32 | 1 Dealing with Climate Change: Palaeoclimate Research in Australia by Katrin Meissner, Nerilie Abram, Leanne Armand, Zanna Chase, Patrick De Deckker, Michael Ellwood, Neville Exon, Michael Gagan, Ian Goodwin, Will Howard, Janice Lough, Malcolm McCulloch, Helen McGregor, Andrew Moy, Mick O’Leary, Steven Phipps, Greg Skilbeck, Jody Webster, Kevin Welsh and Jens Zinke

DEALING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE: PALAEOCLIMATE RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIA | REPORT

Dealing with Climate Change: Palaeoclimate Research in Australia Katrin Meissner, Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Nerilie Abram, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Leanne Armand, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Zanna Chase, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia Patrick De Deckker, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Michael Ellwood, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Neville Exon, Australian IODP Office, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Michael Gagan, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Ian Goodwin, Marine Climate Risk Group, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Will Howard, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Janice Lough, Australian Institute of Marine Science, ARC CoE Coral Reef Studies, Townsville, Australia Malcolm McCulloch, ARC CoE Coral Reef Studies, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia Helen McGregor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia Andrew Moy, Australian Antarctic Division, Australian Government, Hobart, Australia Mick O’Leary, Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, Australia Steven Phipps, Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Greg Skilbeck, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Jody Webster, Geocoastal Research Group, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Kevin Welsh, School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Jens Zinke, Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6845, Australia; School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute and Australian Institute of Marine Science, 39 Fairway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia. Corresponding author: Katrin Meissner ([email protected])

PREFACE: ABSTRACT “Dealing with Climate Change: Palaeoclimate Research Palaeoclimate research relevant to marine systems in in Australia” was written as a contribution to the National Australia includes the collection and analysis of: (a) Marine Science Plan White Paper “Dealing with Climate shallow-water and deep-sea corals, which provide high- Variability and Climate Change”. It identifies Australian resolution archives, (b) deep-sea sediment and ice cores, palaeoclimate research and funding priorities for the which span longer time scales, and (c) palaeoclimate next decade and beyond and was compiled from multiple modelling, which gives us insights into mechanisms, submissions from the community. The paper was dynamics and thresholds underlying past climate presented at the National Marine Science Symposium, states. Palaeoclimate research in Australia is mature held in Canberra from 25-26 November 2014, and and well recognised internationally. To further advance is reproduced here for the benefit of the broader Australian palaeoclimate research, we must address community. major challenges that include insufficient research vessel access, insufficient targeted research funding, as well as the lack of a well funded national centre to coordinate research efforts (e.g. academic institution or ARC Centre of Excellence for Palaeoclimate Research).

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BACKGROUND Science Program, the Marine National Facility, significantly The main palaeoclimate data/proxy group is located at through international research vessels, and the Integrated the Australian National University (Research School of Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). Other funding sources Earth Sciences, 15+ researchers and their groups). Smaller include AINSE and ABRS grants. groups also exist at the University of Western Australia, Australia’s palaeoclimate research contributes to several the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), international working groups of IGBP-Past Global James Cook University, University of Queensland, Changes (PAGES; e.g. Ocean2k, Aus2k, 2k-Network, University of Wollongong, Curtin University, University Sea-Ice Proxy and IMPRESS), of the International of Sydney, Macquarie University, Melbourne University, Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA; e.g. SHAPE), the University of Tasmania, ANSTO Environment, PALSEA2 (PALeo constraints on Sea Level rise), Geoscience Australia and the Australian Antarctic PLIOMAX (Pliocene Maximum Sea Level) and PMIP Division. The main palaeoclimate modelling group is (the Palaeoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project). located at the University of New South Wales (Climate It has also contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel Change Research Centre) with smaller groups at for Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports (e.g. CSIRO, Monash University and the University of AR5 working group 1, Chapter 14: Climate Phenomena Western Australia. and their Relevance for Future Regional Climate Change). Australia is a member of the International Ocean Discovery Australian palaeoclimatologists are representatives on Program (IODP), through the Australian and New Zealand many international governing, scientific and technical International Ocean Discovery program Consortium boards related to IODP and international collaborative (ANZIC), hosted at ANU and with 22 member organisations science programs (e.g. BIOTRACERS, ECORD, in Australia and New Zealand. IODP is the world’s largest IMPRESS, PAGES, SCAR). multinational geoscience program and includes almost The research is mature and rates internationally. Some all OECD countries. IODP carries out deep scientific coring examples of high-impact contributions by Australian in all of the world’s oceans using a variety of platforms, scientists over the past 5 years include (but are not limited and provides ‘ground truthing’ of scientific theories that to): Climate sensitivity (Rohling et al., 2012), sea-level are often based largely on remote sensing techniques. history (O’Leary et al., 2013; Rohling et al., 2014; Zinke ‘Environmental changes, processes and effects’ is one of et al., 2014), ocean acidification (McCullochet al., 2012), three key research themes within IODP. ENSO, Indian Ocean and Southern Hemisphere climate ANZIC is funded jointly by Australia and New Zealand, modes (Abram et al., 2008; Maina et al., 2013; McGregor with Australia being the major partner. Australia’s funds et al., 2013; Abram et al., 2014; Zinke et al., 2014), ocean are provided under an ARC/LIEF grant, with the ARC carbon cycle (Yu et al., 2010), Antarctic melting rates funds amounting to $1.8 million p.a. and the 18 Australian (Mulvaney et al., 2012; Abram et al., 2013), past behaviour partners providing $855,000 p.a. toward Australian of oceanic currents (De Deckker et al., 2013). membership of IODP. ANZIC actively supports Australian scientists to participate in IODP palaeoclimate research. RELEVANCE Between 2009-2014, 16 Australian scientists participated Palaeoclimate reconstructions can be used to estimate in palaeoclimate-focused IODP expeditions as members the sensitivity of the climate to CO2 and other boundary of the Science Party. Through ANZIC, from 2010-2014, conditions (e.g. Rohling et al., 2012), an important 12 Australian scientists have been granted up to $40,000 parameter needed to understand the possible extent of post-cruise funding, and in 2012 and 2014 ANZIC of future warming of the planet. Some periods in supported a total of 24 Australian scientists in groups the past may provide analogues that can constrain through analytical funding of up to $25,000 to work on important aspects of the climate system (e.g. the legacy material. cryosphere) under future scenarios (e.g. Cook et al., 2013). Furthermore, palaeoceanographic data are used Australian palaeoclimate science is also funded through to calibrate climate models. Indeed, the most recent the Australian Research Council (ARC, Discovery Grants, assessment by the IPCC (AR5) has for the first time Future and Laureate fellowships), the ARC Centre included palaeoclimate information in its evaluation of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, the Australian of climate model performance (Braconnot et al., 2012). Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the Australian Palaeoceanographic data and palaeoclimate modelling Antarctic Division (AAD), university fellowships and joint provide a benchmark against which to assess current and international programs (e.g. Australian Academy of Science future changes in climate, the carbon cycle and marine administered programs, French and U.S. science programs). ecosystems, for example in response to ocean acidification Ship time is supported through the Australian Antarctic (e.g. Moy et al., 2009) and the role of seasonal sea ice

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(e.g. Houben et al., 2013). High-resolution coral data can KEY SCIENCE GAPS give us a better understanding of the characteristics of • Understanding of the climate history for the natural climate variability including societally-relevant Australasian region interannual to decadal oscillations (such as the ENSO and • Sea level: Impact of natural variability (including the IOD; e.g. Abram et al., 2008; McGregor et al., 2013; Antarctic Ice Sheet variability) on sea level and rates Zinke et al., 2014) and therefore improve the forecast of of change. Sea level benchmarks from past periods such events, including Australian rainfall impacts. Finally, of warming and higher CO2 (i.e. MIS5e, MIS11, palaeoclimate modelling can provide for additional the Pliocene, etc.). interpretation of the proxy data (e.g. Huiskamp and • Climate sensitivity of the Australasian region: develop Meissner, 2012; Phipps et al., 2013). Examples include a history of wet and dry phases for Australia, and the exploration of the dynamical mechanisms underlying define leads and lags between oceans and land. past changes (e.g. Brennan et al., 2013), and the formal detection and attribution of anthropogenic influences on • Develop a history of continental run-off the ocean (e.g. Bindoff et al., 2013). (weathering history). • Subtropical/tropical marine variability and change End-users for this research range from state and national governments to environmental and resource agencies • History of the East Australian Current and Leeuwin in Australia (and internationally) who have to develop Current, plus the dynamics of the Indo Pacific long-term planning strategies for ‘living in a changing Warm Pool. environment’ (ARC National Research Priorities) or global • Spatially and temporally comprehensive marine research priorities (Kennicutt et al., 2014) over the coming climate history for Indo-Pacific waters, decadal decades and centuries. climate variability within different background climate states, which are part analogues for future SCIENCE NEEDS climate (i.e. MIS5e, MIS11, the Pliocene, etc.). The KEY CHALLENGES climate of the past 2000 years is of particular interest The most important challenges our community is (international research priority). facing include insufficient research vessel access, • The role of external forcings (orbital, solar, volcanic, insufficient targeted research funding and the lack of greenhouse gases) in driving past changes. a well-funded national centre to coordinate research • Southern Hemisphere ocean modes and linkages efforts. For example, funding for RV Investigator has been • Better understanding of the dominant modes of reduced from the original plan of 300 to just 180 days variability in the Southern Hemisphere Oceans, on per year, and university-based research needs to seek, timescales ranging from annual to orbital. independently, both ship and project support to guarantee the achievement of scientific objectives. Other marine • Better constraints on the timing of past changes, nations (e.g. Japan, Germany, France, US), which have particularly during glacial/interglacial transitions. several national research vessels each, support ~300 days • Linkages between the Northern and Southern ship time and link funding for ship time and research Hemisphere oceans, including any leads or lags. to ensure success. Palaeoclimate research is largely a • Ocean control of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) university-driven research field with heavily restricted during past warming events opportunities for collaborative support from government • Identification of the main sources of CO2 during past research institutions (such as the CSIRO, Geoscience key warming events. Australia, or the AAD) where this science is no longer • Identification of mechanisms, triggers and thresholds specifically supported or a research priority. In contrast, involved during these past periods of abrupt the IODP programme is key to research programmes warming. and should receive longer term funding. Again, Australia is unusual among IODP member countries in having • Adequate representation of these processes funding for only 2 years (renewal necessary for 2016 and and feedbacks in climate models used for future beyond). ARC funding should be targeted for the areas projections. of oceanography, earth sciences and climate modelling. • Adaptability of marine organisms to climate A key challenge is also to retain the necessary scientific variations. expertise and leadership to undertake this research effort • Better understanding of organism changes through within Australia. time via fossil assemblages.

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• Better understanding of reef ecosystem responses • Strengthen and maintain Australia’s capacity to past disturbance (climate, ocean acidification, as world leaders in developing high-resolution land‑derived, etc.) and identification of refugia. palaeo‑environmental reconstructions from the tropical • Effects of fisheries on deep-sea corals. oceans. Need for clear understanding of tropical climate variability influencing the Indo-Australian region over • Global climate – carbon cycle – ecological dynamics and priority and relevant time intervals. Provide a better feedbacks understanding of the range of climate variability in • Ocean-atmosphere-cryosphere linkages and regional areas across Australia, and understand how the feedbacks. natural environment has responded. • The lack of an Australian palaeoclimate model able • Need for a systematic effort to develop/maintain to simulate long timescales and including prognostic palaeoclimate modelling research capacity. palaeoproxies. Palaeoclimate modelling requires models that KEY OUTCOMES are computationally efficient and that include • High-resolution reconstruction of past sea levels and representations of key elements of the Earth system understanding of driving mechanisms. (such as the carbon cycle, stable isotopes and ice sheets). These requirements are very different to the • High-resolution reconstructions of past sea surface requirements for modelling 21st century climatic temperatures. change, where the emphasis is generally on maximising • Improved understanding of changes in climate the spatial resolution of the models. As such, variability in the Australasian region leading to palaeoclimate modelling requires dedicated modelling improved forecasts for rainfall and weather extremes. frameworks or, at the very least, dedicated versions of • The development of an Australian climate model able existing models. to simulate long timescales and including prognostic • Australian community works towards taking a leading palaeo climate proxies (e.g. oxygen and carbon role in the reconstruction of the deglacial history of isotopes), as well as a fully coupled carbon, nitrogen and the poorly constrained (Mackintosh et al., 2014) East phosphorus cycle. Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) using marine-based records • Improved proxies for ecosystem composition and proximal to the ice shelf to interpret current changes carbon cycle parameters such as productivity, nutrient in the mass of the ice sheet, and potential contribution availability and oxygen, including development and to sea-level rise. Given the presence of Australian utilisation of chemical composition of fossil organisms bases in East Antarctica, the existing expertise in the as climate proxies. region, and the impact of EAIS melt on Australian sea • Understanding of the climatic events leading to, level, investment in this area is needed. With the new and resulting from, Antarctic ice sheet deglaciation vessel RV Investigator, and a new icebreaker coming in and collapse and the subsequent impact on oceanic the next decade, there is potential to make significant ecosystems (tropical to polar). advances. There is also an opportunity for Australian scientists to participate in international efforts in this PERSPECTIVE field, through the IODP and ANDRILL programs. SPECIFIC SCIENCE PRIORITIES • Strengthening Australia’s involvement in Southern • Establishment of a coordinated palaeoclimate national Ocean and Antarctic Circumpolar Current agenda (defining national priorities in terms of (ACC) palaeoclimate science. Link with ISOLAT locations, time spans, tools, techniques, supplementary (Integrated Southern Ocean Latitudinal Transects), data, and ensuring an appropriate division of an international program to advance Southern Ocean resources). palaeoceanography through a coordinated series of • Establishment of a well funded national centre to sections through the different regions of the Southern coordinate research efforts. This can be either an Ocean (Dr Leanne Armand, Macquarie University, is academic institution or an ARC Centre of Excellence for a member). These priorities relating to high latitude Palaeoclimate Research. While Australia’s palaeoclimate palaeoceanography were identified in the recent SCAR researchers are international leaders in their respective Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science Horizon Scan fields, there is at present insufficient funding to (Kennicutt et al., 2014). Indeed, one of the proposed coordinate this world-class research between groups focus regions is a transect south of Tasmania to the that are scattered all over the continent. Such a centre ice-edge, capturing the important transition zone would also allow for the training and retention of between the western Pacific and eastern Indian oceans. necessary scientific expertise in Australia. Australian scientists are particularly well-placed to

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address this transect, as well as the overall sub-goals of funding for ship-time through an application to the reconstructing: MNF and funding for the research (e.g. salary, travel, • Variability of latitudinal sea-ice extents, westerly wind equipment and analysis costs), which typically comes strength and dust deposition, and the biological from applications to the ARC or the AAS. Better pump and their implications for air-sea gas exchange coordination of these funding rounds would maximize use of resources and ensure the best science is and atmospheric chemistry (CO2); and properly supported. • Variability of surface ocean fronts and their relation to ACC activity and changes in westerly winds. • National effort in palaeoclimate modelling (development of a palaeo-version of the ACCESS • Strengthening Australia’s research capacity in sea-level model). We must ensure that Australia maintains reconstructions to develop critical benchmarks for a access to world-class palaeoclimate modelling capacity warmer, high CO world. 2 – including not just the development of the tools REALISATION themselves, but also ongoing maintenance, training and • A large (and well-funded) academically based investment in personnel. institution that acts as a coordinating centre • The Australian marine geoscience community needs (comparable to University of Southampton in the UK, to strengthen their involvement in international efforts or Scripps /Woods Hole in the US). in terms of infrastructure and human resources. For • An ARC Centre of Excellence for palaeoclimate research example, being proactive about bringing international (integration of palaeoclimate proxy and modelling researchers on the RV Investigator (if funding exceeds communities). 180 days per year) and also trying to attract foreign • Longer-term and increased ARC funding options research vessels in our waters (i.e. have some financial (5 years, 30% success rate). attraction/incentives to do this (e.g. pay ship time, joint scholarships). Re-institute the MST (Marine Science • Long-term funding of the RV Investigator at Technology) grant system or something similar. 300 days per year. • Closer coordination through funding of working groups, • Two additional small research vessels to carry out work for example through renewal of national program of in the coastal zone, and for short-term voyages. activity (i.e. AUSCORE – Australian Coral Records) to link • Australia must remain a member of IODP. Australian the Australian palaeoclimate community. This will allow scientists will gain through shipboard and post-cruise an integration of research expertise/measurement and participation in cutting edge science, by building modelling facilities across organizations, and provide a partnerships with overseas scientists, by having coordinated coral and sediment core material sharing research proponents and co-chief scientists who can and sample effort. steer programs and outputs, and by early access to key • Archiving of physical coral and core material and samples and data. They will also have the opportunity material exchange to ensure maximum use of material of science training for postdoctoral fellows and doctoral collected to date. AIMS, for example, currently houses students in marine science that could not be obtained the AIMS Coral Core Archive, a national facility which, at in any other way. Our region is unique to address present, contains coral material from the Great Barrier various global science problems. Being a member of Reef and eastern Indian Ocean reefs. There is scope IODP will help us maintain our leadership in Southern to curate additional material within this archive and Hemisphere marine geoscience research. thus make it a truly national facility of international • In order for Australian scientists to put forward strong significance. There is a sediment core repository at drilling proposals to IODP, there must be funding Geoscience Australia but it needs resources to bring it to mechanisms in place to support pre-drilling geophysical international standards. site surveys. For example, the UK supports membership • The development of a national training curriculum for in IODP through a Site Survey Investigations scheme universities and an ability/access to the RV Investigator (http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/funded/programmes/ to train future Australian marine palaeoclimate ukiodp/news/ao-ssi/). scientists. A small training marine geoscience program • A challenge common to many facets of ship-based has been supported by ANZIC since 2013, and a larger marine science is the lack of coordination between Master’s at sea marine training program is under development through a consortium of universities headed by Macquarie University.

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Recent intensification of Sangiorgi, F., Sluijs, A., Escutia, C., collapse following a prolonged period tropical climate variability in the Brinkhuis, H., and the Expedition of stable sea level during the last Indian Ocean. Nature Geoscience 1: 318 Scientists, 2013. Reorganization interglacial: Nature Geoscience 6: 849-853. of Southern Ocean plankton 796–800. ecosystem at the onset of Antarctic Bindoff, N.L., Stott, P.A., AchutaRao, Phipps, S.J., McGregor, H.V., Gergis, glaciation. Science 340: 341–344. K.M., Allen, M.R., Gillett, N., Gutzler, J., Gallant, A.J.E., Neukom, R., D., Hansingo, K., Hegerl, G., Hu, Y., Huiskamp, W.N. and Meissner, K.J. Stevenson, S., Ackerley, D., Brown, Jain, S., Mokhov, I.I., Overland, J., 2012. Oceanic carbon and water J.R., Fischer, M.J., and van Ommen Perlwitz, J., Sebbari R., and Zhang, masses during the Mystery Interval: T.D. 2013. Paleoclimate Data-Model X. 2013. Detection and Attribution a model-data comparison study. Comparison and the Role of Climate of Climate Change: from Global to Paleoceanography 27: PA4296, 17pp. Forcings over the Past 1500 Years. Regional. In: Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, Kennicutt, M.C., Chown, S.L., Cassano, Journal of Climate 26: 6915-6936. G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J.J. and Liggett, D. 2014. Polar Rohling, E.J., Foster, G.L., Grant, K.M., J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex research: Six priorities for Antarctic Marino, G., Roberts, A.P., Tamisiea, and P.M. Midgley (editors). Climate science. Nature 512: 523-525. M.E. and Williams F. 2014. Sea-level Change 2013: The Physical Science Maina, J., de Moel, H., Zinke, J., Madin, and deep-sea-temperature variability Basis. Contribution of Working J., McClanahan, T. and Vermaat, J.E. over the past 5.3 million years. Nature Group I to the Fifth Assessment 2013. Human deforestation outweighs 508: 477–482. 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Nature Climate Change 2: B., Berg, S., van Ommen, T., Zwartz, sea since the Last Glacial Maximum. 417–424. D., Roberts, S.J., Vyverman, W. and Science 330: 1084-1087. Brennan, C.E., Meissner, K.J., Eby, M., Masse, G. 2014. Retreat history of the Zinke, J., Rountrey, A., Feng, M., Xie, Hillaire-Marcel, C. and Weaver, A.J. East Antarctic Ice Sheet since the Last S.P., Dissard, D., Rankenburg, K., 2013. Impact of sea ice variability Glacial Maximum. Quaternary Science Lough, J. and McCulloch, M.T. 2014. on the oxygen isotope content of Reviews 100: 10–30. Corals record long-term Leeuwin seawater under glacial and interglacial McCulloch, MT, J. Falter, J. Trotter and Current variability during Ningaloo conditions. Paleoceanography 28: 1-13. Montagna P. 2012. Coral resilience Niño/Niña since 1795. Nature Cook, C.P., van de Flierdt, T., Williams, to ocean acidification and global Communications 5: 3607. T., Hemming, S.R., Iwai, M., warming through pH up-regulation. Kobayashi, M., Jimenez-Espejo, F.J., Nature Climate Change 2: 623-627. Escutia, C., González, J.J., Khim, McGregor, H.M., Fischer, M.J., Gagan, B.-K., McKay, R.M., Passchier, S., M.K., Fink, D., Phipps, S.J., Wong, Bohaty, S.M., Riesselman, C.R., Tauxe, H. and Woodroffe, C.D. 2013. A L., Sugisaki, S., Lopez Galindo, A., weak El Niño/Southern Oscillation Patterson, M.O., Sangiorgi, F., Pierce, with delayed seasonal growth around E.L., Brinkhuis, H., Klaus, A., Fehr, 4,300 years ago. Nature Geoscience 6: A., Bendle, J.A.P., Bijl, P.K., Carr, S.A., 949-953. Dunbar, R.B., Flores, J.A., Hayden, T.G., Katsuki, K., Kong, G.S., Nakai, Moy, A.D., Howard, W.R., Bray, S.G. M., Olney, M.P., Pekar, S.F., Pross, J., and Trull, T.W. 2009. Reduced Röhl, U., Sakai, T., Shrivastava, P.K., calcification in modern Southern Stickley, C.E., Tuo, S., Welsh, K., and Ocean planktonic foraminifera. Yamane, M. 2013. Dynamic behaviour Nature Geoscience 2: 276–280. of the East Antarctic ice sheet during Mulvaney, R., Abram, N. J., Hindmarsh, Pliocene warmth. Nature Geoscience 6: 765–769.

24 32 | 1 Dealing with climate change through understanding past tropical ocean-atmosphere climate interactions and their impacts on marine ecosystems by Jens Zinke, Helen V. McGregor, Nerilie J. Abram, Janice M. Lough, Michael Gagan, Mick O’Leary, Malcolm McCulloch, Jody Webster and Colin Woodroffe

UNDERSTANDING PAST TROPICAL OCEAN-ATMOSPHERE CLIMATE INTERACTIONS & THEIR IMPACTS ON MARINE ECOSYSTEMS | REPORT

Dealing with climate change through understanding past tropical ocean‑atmosphere climate interactions and their impacts on marine ecosystems *,1Jens Zinke, Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6845, Australia; School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute and Australian Institute of Marine Science, 39 Fairway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia. Helen V. McGregor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Nerilie J. Abram, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200 Australia. Janice M. Lough, Australian Institute of Marine Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia. Michael Gagan, Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200 Australia. Mick O’Leary, Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University of Technology, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6845, Western Australia. Malcolm McCulloch, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. Jody Webster, Geocoastal Research Group, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia. Colin Woodroffe, School of Earth and Environment, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. *Correspondence to: [email protected]. 1 Now at Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA 6845, Australia.

PREFACE: ABSTRACT “Dealing with Climate Change Australian scientists are world leaders in developing robust through understanding past palaeo‑environmental reconstructions from coral archives, relevant for tropical ocean-atmosphere climate understanding Australian climate extremes. The key issues for advancing this interactions and their impacts on field are the need for high-resolution marine paleoclimate records to place marine ecosystems” was written the present in the context of past natural climate and sea level change, and to as a contribution to the National understand the impact of those changes on marine ecosystems. We call for Marine Science Plan White Paper sustained investment in paleoclimate science, infrastructure, and personnel to “Dealing with Climate Variability advance these critical areas of research. and Climate Change”. The White Paper was compiled from multiple INTRODUCTION submissions from the community The tropical Indo-Pacific is crucial for global climate. This area comprises the and was presented at the National warmest body of surface ocean water on the planet, and the deep atmospheric Marine Science Symposium, held convection over this warm water acts as the heat engine of the global climate in Canberra from 25-26 November system. Many of the most significant sources of climate variability are 2014. This contribution highlights generated in the Indo-Pacific; climate modes such as the El Niño-Southern Australia’s strong history in tropical Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), Indian Ocean Basin Mode coral reef-based paleoclimate (IOBM) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), impact global temperatures research and identifies science and and cause rainfall extremes over Australia and beyond (England et al., 2014). funding priorities for the next decade Observational records are too short to provide perspectives on the natural range and beyond. It goes into more detail of marine climate variability and long-term change, but this information is on tropical paleoclimate than the critical since recent climate simulations suggest that the impacts of ENSO and paleoclimate White Paper and is IDO variability may intensify over the coming century (Cai et al., 2014a, b). reproduced here for the benefit of Tropical corals and other carbonate secreting organisms contain annual the broader community. growth bands (similar to tree rings) that provide high-fidelity reconstructions

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of past marine climate and environments with valuable RELEVANCE information on climates prior to historical observations Much of Australia’s climate is influenced by interannual (Figure 1). Additionally, the annual density bands give to decadal oscillations that originate in the tropical Indian long histories of coral growth, from which to assess and Pacific Oceans. Well-known oscillatory events such the impacts of climate on the backbone of coral reef as the ENSO and the IOD are now forecast with some ecosystems, sustained calcification. Reef and sediment degree of certainty once events begin, allowing the Bureau cores from extensive fringing and barrier reef or of Meteorology to give around 6-months' warning of the continental slope environments provide invaluable likely Australian rainfall impacts. Longer-term projections insights into long-term (thousands of years) reef remain elusive, however recent climate simulations ecosystem responses and sea level histories. suggest frequency of extreme El Niño and positive IOD Australian scientists are world leaders in developing events may double or triple over the coming century. robust climate and coral growth reconstructions Robust, highly resolved climate reconstructions place from massive coral skeletons in Indo-Pacific coral current marine environmental and climatic variability in a reefs. Primary research activities are undertaken at longer context than possible with observational records. The Australian National University (Abram, Fallon, Such records contribute to understanding the nature and Gagan, McGregor*, Mallela), University of Western causes of tropical climate variability and hence, ultimately, Australia (McCulloch, D’Olivo), Australian Institute of help refine the global climate models used to project Marine Science (Cantin, Lough, Zinke), James Cook future climates in a rapidly warming world. Importantly, University (Lewis, Smithers), University of Queensland massive coral records provide the high-resolution (annual (Zhao, Pandolfi, Rodrigues), University of Wollongong to seasonal) link for the past several centuries between (Woodroffe), Curtin University (O’Leary, Zinke), Sydney recent, short observational records and longer-term, but University (Webster), ANSTO (Hua) and Macquarie much lower resolution, paleoclimate records (e.g. marine University (Goodwin). The work to date has been sediment records) for the region. In addition, fossil corals funded through the Australian Research Council (ARC), allow us to generate climate histories for well-dated Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the ARC windows further back in time, and are one of the only ways Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, university of reconstructing interannual climate behaviour (such as fellowships and international research agencies including ENSO and the IOD) in different background climate states the Integrated Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). High- of Earth’s past. impact contributions by Australian scientists to the field over the past 10 years include (but are not limited to) End-users for this research, therefore, range from state those shown in Table 1. and national governments and environmental and resource agencies in Australia (and beyond) who develop This field of research actively contributes to the Past long-term planning strategies for “living in a changing Global Changes Ocean2k and Australasia2k initiatives environment” (an ARC National Research Priority) over reconstructing natural climate variations of the past 2000 the coming decades and centuries. Australian scientists years (e.g. PAGES Consortium 2013 Nature Geoscience; also play a lead international role in this field, where Neukom et al. 2014 Nature Climate Change), and to the their work has far-reaching impacts for the international Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) science community (see Table 1). Coral palaeoclimate assessment reports (e.g. AR5 working group 1, Chapter 14: record development is a cost-effective tool for generating Climate Phenomena and their Relevance for Future Regional solid environmental baselines that add significant value Climate Change). to the often short-term and high-cost instrumented monitoring activities in remote marine locations.

* Now based at the University of Wollongong.

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Figure 1: AIMS scientist coring large Porites bommie at Rowley Shoals, northwestern Australian shelf in 2009. Photo credit: Eric Matson, Australian Institute of Marine Science.

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Table 1. Research themes, some of the Australian scientists involved, and key publications addressing each theme. For an extended list of references on tropical palaeoclimatology see References.

RESEARCH THEME AUSTRALIAN SCIENTISTS KEY PUBLICATIONS

El Niño-Southern McGregor, Gagan, Lough, Zinke McGregor et al., 2013 Nature Geoscience; Oscillation Lough et al., 2014 Paleoceanography

Indo-Pacific Warm Pool Gagan, McGregor, Abram, Zinke, Abram et al., 2008 Nature Geoscience; interactions; Indian Ocean McCulloch, Fallon Abram et al. 2009 Quaternary Science Reviews; climate modes Zinke et al., 2014 Nature Communications; Zinke et al., 2014 Scientific Reports; Zinke et al., 2008 Geophysical Research Letters; North Queensland rainfall Lough, Gagan, Lewis, McGregor, Webster, Felis et al., 2014 Nature Communications; & Great Barrier Reef Fallon Lough et al., 2014 Paleoceanography; teleconnections Rodrigues et al., 2014 PLoS One

Coral reef environmental Lough, Cantin, McCulloch, Mallela, Mallela et al., 2013, PLoS One; health and calcification D’Olivo, Lewis Cooper et al., 2012 Science; Cantin and Lough, 2014, PLoS One; Lough & Cantin, 2014 Biological Bulletin; D’Olivo et al., 2013 Coral Reefs Sedimentation and river Lough, McCulloch, Zinke, D’Olivo, Cantin, Lough 2011 Coral Reefs; runoff history Lewis, Fallon D’Olivo et al., 2013 Coral Reefs; Grove et al., 2013 Climate of the Past; Grove et al., 2012 Biogeosciences; Maina et al., 2013 Nature Communications Sea-level history Woodroffe, Smithers, Webster, O’Leary, Woodroffe et al., 2012 Geology; Zinke, Goodwin Zinke et al., 2014 Nature Communications; O’Leary et al., 2013 Nature Geoscience

Ocean acidification McCulloch, Trotter, Holcomb, D’Olivo, McCulloch et al., 2012 Nature Climate Change; Fabricius, Lough, Fallon Holcomb et al., 2014 Scientific Reports

Reef response Woodroffe, Webster, Smithers, Pandolfi, Woodroffe & Webster 2014 Marine Geology; Zhao Abbey et al. 2014 Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology; Camoin et al., 2012 Geology; Perry et al. 2012 Geology

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SCIENCE NEEDS CONCLUSIONS There is no doubt that the Australian coral palaeoclimate Key science gaps are: and palaeoenvironment community have made globally • The need is for spatially and temporally comprehensive significant contributions to understanding the tropical marine climate history for Indo-Pacific waters. This ocean-atmosphere interactions and impacts that directly includes well dated windows of societally-relevant mediate Australian climate and rainfall and ecosystems. interannual and decadal climate variability within Australian scientists are world leaders in this field, but different background climate states, which are part the time is ripe to provide a more focussed and integrated analogues for future climate (i.e. MIS5e, MIS11, the approach that capitalises on our location, our significant Pliocene etc). Climate of the past 2000 years is of coral reef ecosystems and Australia’s scientific expertise. particular interest (international research priority). Outputs are relevant both nationally and internationally. • The need for a better understanding of reef ecosystem There is a dire need to develop new records that cover responses to past disturbance (climate, ocean past several centuries and well dated windows of the more acidification, land-derived etc.) and identification of distant past from key locations of tropical Indo-Pacific refugia. climate variability. This will provide an integrated, high- • The need for sea level benchmarks from past periods resolution Indo-Pacific climate history allowing current of warming and higher CO2 (i.e. MIS5e, MIS11 the environmental changes and their impacts to be placed in Pliocene etc). an historical context. The research links to international Key challenges/needs for addressing the science gaps: efforts to provide critical baseline data (e.g. PAGES2k) to constrain climate model uncertainty (e.g. PMIP3). • Funding support for existing key infrastructures in Australia’s high resolution paleoclimate centres To support these scientific priorities there is a need for of Australia (e.g. ARC Discovery; ARC Centre of a national, well-funded initiative to close the huge gap Excellence for Paleoclimate Research). in the number of high-resolution marine paleoclimate records in Australian and Commonwealth waters and • Closer coordination through working group meetings, for the wider Indo-Pacific. Infrastructure and analytical for example through renewal of the national program facilities are already in place. The key challenge over of activity (i.e. AUSCORE – Australian Coral Records) the next 5 to 20 years is to focus the research effort and to link the Australian coral paleoclimate community. obtain the necessary funding for the essential sample This will allow an integration of research expertise/ collection, geochemical analyses and maintenance of measurement facilities across organizations, and facilities needed to produce ground-breaking past climate, provide a coordinated coral core material sharing and sea-level, ocean acidification and environmental change sample effort (expensive component of research). information that is required to understand the context • Archiving of physical coral material and material and impacts of future changes in Australia’s marine exchange to ensure maximum use of material collected environment. A key challenge is also to retain within to date. AIMS, for example, currently houses the AIMS Australia the necessary scientific expertise and leadership Coral Core Archive, a national facility which, at present, to undertake this research effort. contains coral material from the Great Barrier Reef and eastern Indian Ocean reefs. There is scope to curate additional material within this archive and thus make it a truly national facility of international significance. • Research vessels access through ARC LIEF funding to collect modern tropical coral material, older coral or reef cores, deep sea corals and sediment cores from ocean drilling campaigns (link with IODP, for instance IODP Exp. 325) from remote locations and to collect a wealth of site survey data needed to stimulate new IODP expeditions.

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REFERENCES Cooper, T. F., O’Leary, R. A. and Holcomb, M., Venn, A., Tambutte, E., Lough, J. M., 2012. Growth of Tambutte, S., Allemand, D., Trotter, Abbey, E. A., Webster J. M., Braga, J. C., Western Australian corals in the J. and McCulloch, M.T., 2014. Coral Jacobsen, G., Thorogood, G., Thomas, Anthropocene. Science 335: 593-596. calcifying fluid pH dictates response A., Camoin, G., Reimer, P. and Potts, Crueger, T., Zinke, J. and Pfeiffer, M., to ocean acidification.Scientific D. C., 2014. Deglacial mesophotic 2009. Patterns of Pacific decadal Reports, 4, 5207. reef demise on the Great Barrier Reef. variability recorded by Indian Ocean Lewis, S.E., Brodie, J.E., McCulloch, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, corals. International Journal of Earth M.T., Mallela, J., Jupiter, S.D., Stuart Palaeoecology 392: 473-494. Sciences 98: 41-52. Williams, H., Lough, J.M. and Abram, N. J., Gagan, M. K., McCulloch, Grove, C.A., Zinke, J., Peeters, F., Matson, E.G., 2011. An assessment of M. T., Chappell, J. and Hantoro, W. Park, W., Scheufen, T., Kasper, S., an environmental gradient using coral S. 2003. Coral reef death during the Randriamanantsoa, B., McCulloch, geochemical records,Whitsunday 1997 Indian Ocean Dipole linked to M.T. and Brummer, G.J.A., 2013. Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Indonesian wildfires.Science 301: Madagascar corals reveal multidecadal Marine Pollution Bulletin, 65, 306-319. 952-955. modulation of rainfall since 1708. Lough, J.M. and Cantin, N.E., 2014. Abram, N., Gagan, M. K., Liu, Z., Climate of the Past 9: 641-656. Perspectives on massive coral growth Hantoro, W. S., McCulloch, M. T. D’Olivo, J.P., McCulloch, M.T. and Judd, rates in a changing ocean. Biological and Suwargadi, B. W. 2007. Seasonal K., 2013. Long-term records of coral Bulletin 226: 187-202. characteristics of the Indian Ocean calcification across the central Great Lough J.M., Llewellyn, L.E., Lewis, S.E., Dipole during the Holocene epoch. Barrier Reef: assessing the impacts of Turney, C.S.M., Palmer, J.G., Cook, Nature 445: 299-302. river runoff and climate change. Coral CJ and Hogg, A.G., 2014. Suppressed Abram, N. J., Gagan, M. K., Cole, J. Reefs 32: 999-1012. mid-Holocene monsoon variability E., Hantoro, W. S. and Mudelsee, England, M.H., McGregor, S., Spence, in northeast Australia from coral M., 2008. Recent intensification P., Meehl, G.A., Timmermann, A., luminescence. Paleoceanography 29: of tropical climate variability in the Cai, W., Sen Gupta, A. McPhaden, 581-594. Indian Ocean. Nature Geoscience 1: M.J., Purich, A. and Santoso, A., Lough, J.M., 2011. Measured coral 849-853. 2014. Recent intensification of wind- luminescence as a freshwater proxy: Cai, W., Santoso,A., Wang, G.,1, Weller, driven circulation in the Pacific and comparison with visual indices and a E., Wu, L., Ashok, K., Masumoto, Y. the ongoing warming hiatus. Nature potential age artefact. Coral Reefs 30: and Yamagata, T., 2014. Increased Climate Change 4: 222-227. 169-182. frequency of extreme Indian Ocean Felis, T., McGregor, H.V., Linsley, Lough, J.M. 2011. Great Barrier Reef Dipole events due to greenhouse B.K., Tudhope, A.W., Gagan, M.K., coral luminescence reveals rainfall warming. Nature 510: 254-258. Suzuki, A., Inoue, M., Thomas, variability over northeastern Cai, W., Borlace, S., Lengaigne, M., A.L., Esat, T.M., Thompson, W.G., Australia since the 17th century. van Rensch, P., Collins, M., Vecchi, Tiwari, M., Potts, D.C., Mudelsee, M., Paleoceanography 26: PA2201. G., Timmermann, A., Santoso, A., Yokoyama Y. and Webster J.M., 2014. Maina, J., de Moel, H., Zinke, J., Madin, McPhaden, M.J., Wu, L., England, Intensification of the meridional J., McClanahan, T. and Vermaat, J.E., M.H., Wang, G., Guilyardi, E. and temperature gradient in the Great 2013. Human deforestation outweighs Jin, F.F., 2014. Increasing frequency Barrier Reef following the Last Glacial future climate change impacts of of extreme El Niño events due to Maximum. Nature Communications sedimentation on coral reefs. Nature greenhouse warming. Nature Climate 5: 4102. Communications 4: 1986. Change 4: 111-116. Grove, C. A., Kasper, S., Zinke, J., McCulloch, MT, Falter, J., Trotter J. and Camoin, G.F., Seard, C., Deschamps, Pfeiffer, M., Garbe-Schönberg, Montagna P., 2012. Coral resilience P., Webster, J.M., Abbey, E., Braga, D. and Brummer, G.-J. A., 2013. to ocean acidification and global J.C., Iryu, Y., Durand, N., Bard, Confounding effects of coral growth warming through pH up-regulation. E., Hamelin, B., Yokoyama, Y., and high SST variability on skeletal Nature Climate Change 2: 623–627. Thomas, A.L., Henderson, G.M. and Sr/Ca: Implications for coral McCulloch, MT, Trotter, J., Montagna, Dussouillez, P., 2012. Reef response paleothermometry. Geochemistry, P., Falter, J., Dunbar, R., Freiwald, A., to sea-level and environmental Geophysics, Geosystems 14: 1277-1293. changes during the last deglaciation: Försterra, G., Correa, M.L., Maier, C., Grove, C.A., Nagtegaal, R., Zinke, J., Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Rüggeberg, A. and Taviani, M., 2012. Scheufen, T., Koster, B., Kasper, S., Expedition 310, Tahiti Sea Level. Resilience of cold-water scleractinian McCulloch, M.T., van den Bergh, G. Geology 40: 643-646. corals to ocean acidification: boron and Brummer, G.J.A., 2010. River isotopic systematics of pH and Cantin N.E. and Lough, J.M., 2014. runoff reconstructions from novel saturation state up-Regulation. Surviving coral bleaching events: spectral luminescence scanning of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 87: Porites growth anomalies on the Great massive coral skeletons. Coral Reefs 21-34. Barrier Reef. PLoS ONE 9(2): e88720. 29: 579–591.

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McGregor, H.M., Fischer, M.J.,Gagan, Pfeiffer, M., Dullo, W.C., Zinke, J. Zinke, J., Loveday, B., Reason, C., M.K., Fink, D., Phipps, S.J., Wong, and Garbe-Schoenberg, D., 2009. Dullo, W.-C. and Kroon, D., 2014. H. and Woodroffe, C.D., 2013. A Three monthly coral Sr/Ca records Madagascar corals track sea surface weak El Niño/Southern Oscillation from the Chagos Archipelago temperature variability in the Agulhas with delayed seasonal growth around covering the period of 1950 to 1995: Current core region over the past 334 4,300 years ago. Nature Geoscience 6: Reproducibility and implications years. Scientific Reports 4: 4393. 949-953. for quantitative reconstructions of Zinke, J., Pfeiffer, M., Timm, O., Dullo, Neukom, R., Gergis, J., Karoly, D., sea surface temperature variations. W.-Chr. and Brummer, G. J. A. Wanner, H., Curran, M., Elbert, J., International Journal of Earth Sciences 2009. Western Indian Ocean marine González-Rouco, F., Linsley, B., Moy, 98: 53-66. and terrestrial records of climate A., Mundo, I., Raible, C., Steig, E., van Woodroffe, C.D., McGregor, H.V., variability: a review and new concepts Ommen, T., Vance, T., Villalba, R., Lambeck, K., Smithers, S.G. and Fink, on land-ocean interaction since A.D. Zinke, J. and Frank, D., 2014. Inter- D., 2012. Mid-Pacific microatolls 1660. International Journal of Earth hemispheric temperature variability record sea-level stability over the past Sciences 98: 115-133. over the last millennium. Nature 5000 years. Geology 40: 951-954. Zinke, J., Timm, O., Pfeiffer, M., Dullo, Climate Change 4: 362-367. Woodroffe, C. D., and Webster, J. M., W.-Chr., Kroon, D. and Thomassin, Neukom, R., Nash, D.J., Endfield, G. H., 2014. Coral Reefs and Sea-Level B. A. 2008. Mayotte coral reveales Grab, S., Grove, C.A., Kelso, C., Vogel, Change. Marine Geology 352: 248-267. hydrological changes in the western C.H., and Zinke, J., 2013. Multi-proxy Zinke, J., Rountrey, A., Feng, M., Xie, Indian between 1865 to 1994. summer and winter precipitation S.P., Dissard, D., Rankenburg, K., Geophysical Research Letters 35: reconstruction for southern Africa. Lough, J. and McCulloch, M.T., 2014. L23707. Climate Dynamics 42: 2713-2726. Corals record long-term Leeuwin O’Leary, M. J., Hearty, P. J., Thompson, Current variability during Ningaloo W. G., Raymo, M. E., Mitrovica, J. Niño/Niña since 1795. Nature X., and Webster, J. M., 2013. Ice Communications 5: 3607. sheet collapse following a prolonged Zinke, J., Pfeiffer, M., Park, W., period of stable sea level during the Schneider, B., Reuning, L., Dullo, last interglacial. Nature Geoscience 6: W.-Chr., Camoin, G. F., Mamgini, 796–800. A., Schroeder-Ritzrau, A., Garbe- Rodrigues, A., Grove, CA, Zinke, J., Schönberg, D. and Davies, G. R., Pandolfi, J.M. and Zhao, J.X., 2014. 2014. Seychelles coral record of Coral luminescence identifies changes in sea surface temperature the Pacific Decadal Oscillation as bimodality in the western Indian a primary driver of river runoff Ocean from the Mid-Holocene to the variability impacting the southern present. Climate Dynamics 42: 2713- Great Barrier Reef. PLoS One 9(1): 726. e84305. Perry, C. T., Smithers, S. G., Gulliver, P., and Browne, N. K., 2012. Evidence of very rapid reef accretion and reef growth under high turbidity and terrigenous sedimentation. Geology 40: 719-722.

31 32 | 1 31 SHAPE update: from Mildura to Nagoya by Andrew Lorrey, Steven J. Phipps and Helen Bostock

REPORT | SHAPE UPDATE: FROM MILDURA TO NAGOYA

SHAPE update: from Mildura to Nagoya Andrew Lorrey1, Steven J. Phipps2 and Helen Bostock1 1 National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, New Zealand 2 Climate Change Research Centre and ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia The middle of 2014 saw the beginning of a very active The final activity for this phase of SHAPE took place in period for the SHAPE (Southern Hemisphere Assessment Sydney, Australia in February 2015. A two-day training of PalaeoEnvironments) project. workshop was held for early career researchers, with a primary focus on state-of-the-art tools for climate This activity began with a successful session at the modelling and palaeoclimate synthesis. The training biennial AQUA meeting held in Mildura, Australia was delivered by up-and-coming researchers within the from 29 June to 4 July 2014. This conference marked SHAPE community, and demonstrated how a wide range the end of the initial data synthesis stage of SHAPE. of models and techniques are being used to investigate One of the main efforts of the project participants was late Quaternary environmental and climate change. to produce posters summarising the published data that From the proxy side, Shaun Eaves covered cosmogenic is available for subsequent research focused on sub- radionuclide dating and the use of mountain glaciers regions or key time periods of interest. In total, four of to reconstruct past climatic change, while Michael- the main SHAPE regions were covered: Australia and Shawn Fletcher covered the use of radioisotopes, the tropics, New Zealand, Antarctica and the Southern charcoal and pollen to reconstruct past environmental Hemisphere oceans. Notable additions to many of the changes. Duncan Ackerley demonstrated climate field regional data compilations for SHAPE included coverage reconstructions of geopotential height and other variables of Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (24 to 60 ka), new age models using the Past Interpretation of Climate Tool (pict.niwa. for sedimentary data, and an abundance of cosmogenic co.nz). From the modelling side, Laurie Menviel showed radionuclide dates on moraines that have not been us how to simulate millennial-scale changes using produced since INTIMATE-II came to a conclusion. There the LOVECLIM model. Steven Phipps also gave some were a wide variety of presentations in the SHAPE oral hands-on training in the CSIRO Mk3L climate system session, ranging from development of new hydroclimate model, giving some of the participants their first taste of proxies to palaeoclimate model interrogation. Of modelling! Finally, in an inspirational presentation, Stuart significance, presentations included high-quality work Browning demonstrated the potential of data assimilation from emerging researchers focusing on Australasia, to bring the data and the modelling together. Antarctica and South America, indicate that the Southern Hemisphere Quaternary research community is healthy The next activity of SHAPE will be a session at the 19th and growing. INQUA Congress in Nagoya, Japan. Join us for a full day of talks on Saturday 1 August 2015, and view the accompanying There were also several presentations related to the posters. Thus far, more than 45 abstracts have been SHAPE project goals at the Geoscience Society of NZ submitted to the SHAPE session, with presentations annual conference in late November 2014 in New covering a range of topics from every geographical region Plymouth, New Zealand. One presentation in particular of the Southern Hemisphere. There is clear interest from that was led by Dr. Kat Holt (Massey University) reviewed within the SHAPE community to carry on the large-scale tephrochronology and tephrostratigraphy of New Zealand collaboration, and discussions of our future direction for the last 60ka. Many of the tephra are widespread and will take place in Nagoya. A meeting of everyone who is provide critical marker ties between terrestrial and marine interested in the SHAPE project will be held during the proxy records. Congress, and will be advertised closer to the event.

32 32 | 1 Science Meets Parliament 2015 by Claire Krause

SCIENCE MEETS PARLIAMENT 2015 | REPORT

Science Meets Parliament 2015 Claire Krause Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

On the 24th and 25th March 2015, I was fortunate enough to attend the annual “Science Meets Parliament” forum, hosted by Science and Technology Australia, as the official representative for AQUA. This annual event aims to introduce scientists to the world of politics and policy-making, providing them with information and skills required to move their science from the lab into the public domain. The event culminated in a meeting with a member of parliament, where we got to put our new-found skills into practice. The two-day event began on Tuesday at the National Convention Centre in Canberra, where we spent one day learning how news and policy are made, and how we can best engage the people at the frontline of these processes. We heard from Alison Carabine from ABC Radio National Breakfast and James Massola from Fairfax Media about a typical day in the life of a political journalist. It certainly made me appreciate the relative calmness of writing up a PhD! They brought home the importance of a unique and engaging story that will catch the attention of the public, something not always associated with the scientific process. They encouraged us contact journalists directly if we had a story we believed was newsworthy, but highlighted the importance of targeting a journalist who will be interested in the story and who speaks to the audience your research hopes to reach. Top to Bottom: We also heard from political 1. Practising our “science blurb” in preparation for meeting with MPs. Photo: Lorna Sim. lobbyists Jeanette Cotterell 2. Professor Ian Chubb addressing the National Press Club. Photo: Lorna Sim and Simon Banks on how to 3. Professor Hugh White and Professor Brian Schmidt sharing their words of wisdom. speak to politicians, and more Photo: Lorna Sim. importantly, how to get them to listen. Mr Martin Hoffman,

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Clockwise from top left: 1. AQUA ladies all frocked up for dinner at Parliament House. Helen McGregor, Monika Markowska and myself. 2. The Honourable Ian Macfarlane speaking at the Gala Ball at Parliament House. Photo: Lorna Sim. 3. Selfie with Bill Shorten. 4. Off to Parliament House to practise my lobbying.

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the Deputy Secretary for the Science Group at the Day two began at Parliament House, with meetings Department of Industry and Science, highlighted the scheduled between delegates and MPs throughout the “messy nature” of the policymaking process. day. My meeting was with Mr Jason Wood, the Liberal MP for La Trobe, who I got to speak to about palaeoclimate. One of my personal highlights of the day was hearing He was particularly interested in the caving I do to collect from Professors Brian Schmidt and Hugh White, who stalagmite samples and wanted to hear all my horror provided their insider tips on how to influence policy. stories about the strange creatures we encountered in I managed to fill four pages of my notebook with their the caves (like giant crickets with feelers the length of words of wisdom, but I think one of the best pieces their bodies!). of advice they gave was not to speak “science” to a policymaker – they won’t necessarily understand you or Following our meetings, we were bussed over to the the message you’re presenting and you may miss your National Press Club, where we had lunch and listened opportunity. We must translate our scientific message to Professor Ian Chubb, Chief Scientist for Australia, into policy terms, speaking in terms of “objectives”, address the press on the importance of science for “decisions” and “outcomes”. Professor Schmidt Australia’s future. A report titled, “The importance of highlighted the importance of creating relationships with advanced physical and mathematical sciences to the both side of parliament to ensure that you don’t lose your Australian economy” had been released earlier that influence when the government changes. day, which quantified the economic benefits of science to Australia. Professor Chubb highlighted the need to The last task of the day was a workshop lead by recognise the importance of science and the economic Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant from the Centre contribution it makes. The address was televised live for the Public Awareness of Science at ANU on how to on ABC, and a quick text to my mum meant she was actually go about implementing some of the advice given watching along from home. throughout the day. We each wrote a one minute blurb about our work, which we presented to the people around The remainder of the day was spent at question time us. This was all done in preparation for the following in the House of Representatives (one of the more day, when we were scheduled to meet with members of fascinating aspects of SmP. I found myself almost David parliament to speak about our work as scientists. Attenborough-esque, trying to make sense of the rabble, heckling and, well, politics that is federal parliament) That night, delegates and MPs frocked up and descended and at a forum of MPs and ARC representatives on the on the Great Hall at Parliament House for the Gala ability of science and politics to get along. Science meets Dinner. Members of Parliament were invited along, and Parliament was rounded off with a cocktail function, sat amongst us, giving us our first chance to practice our hosted by the Parliamentary Friends of Science – a newly developed communication skills. Adam Spencer collection of science lobbyists, MPs with environmental was the MC for the night, regaling us with fun facts portfolios, and Adam Bandt, the Deputy Leader of the about numbers (three is the most popular number of Australian Greens. At this event I got to put my new- members for a girl group and it takes eight minutes for found skills and confidence in speaking to MPs to use, light to reach Earth from the Sun), while highlighting to chat to Dr Bandt about ways I, as a scientist, could the importance of maths and science education. Guest be involved in influencing politics. Dr Bandt was very speakers for the night included Catherine Livingstone, welcoming and engaged when I spoke to him, and President of the Business Council of Australia, The offered for me to visit his office for the day to get a better Honourable Ian Macfarlane, Minister for Industry and understanding of the life of an MP “behind-the-scenes”, Science and The Honourable Bill Shorten, Leader of the which I gratefully accepted. Opposition. We had an excellent night speaking to other delegates, as well as the politicians who joined us for the Science Meets Parliament was hands down one of the best night. I managed to catch Bill Shorten and ask him about conferences I have been to. The atmosphere was one of the best thing, I as a scientist, could do to help him out. positivity and encouragement, and I certainly walked away His answer was something along the lines of, “In your feeling more confident in my ability to positively influence working life, try to commit just 1% of your time to politics, Australian politics. The MPs were very welcoming, to speaking to politicians and speaking out about issues particularly during our day at Parliament House, and that you’re involved in – it would make my job much willing to engage with us scientists at every opportunity. easier. Oh, and join the labour party.” I want to thank AQUA for the opportunity to attend this event, and encourage anyone who is given to change to head along – it will be one of the more enduring experiences of your career.

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ARC results insight into the causes of fragmentation in Australian fauna assemblages and in particular, the recognition of DECRA AWARDS carnivore damage. ANU THOMPSON, DR JESSICA C WOOD, DR RACHEL E ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGY This project will test novel hypotheses about human This project aims to develop techniques to radiocarbon behavioural strategies and responses to resource stress in date archaeological tooth enamel. In warm environments, central Africa at the time of early human dispersals out it is rarely possible to date bone, as the protein targeted of Africa. It aims to examine how behavioural complexity degrades rapidly. Without direct dates on skeletal observed in the stone artefact records of southern and material, chronologies underpinning archaeological eastern Africa relate to those in northern Malawi, which studies across much of Australia and South East Asia lies at a key crossroads for these dispersals. The study area (SEA) are insecure, hindering the study of numerous contains rare archaeological deposits that offer a unique archaeological questions. Enamel is relatively stable, but it opportunity to address problems of early human resource does degrade during burial. The effect of degradation on use at all scales: site, landscape, and region. This project the radiocarbon age of archaeological teeth will be studied aims to contribute to human origins research through to identify the least altered areas for dating. Using these investigation of why and how local geophysical and outcomes, a chronology for the spread of pigs through climatic constraints shaped past human behaviour relative SEA will then be developed, testing models that explain to other regions. how early farming practices developed. THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY LA TROBE UNIVERSITY POLKINGHORNE, DR MARTIN HAYES, DR SARAH C ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGY This project aims to conduct the first systematic Victoria’s 19th century gold rush triggered a major archaeological investigations of Cambodian Middle social and economic transformation with far ranging Period capitals on the banks of the Mekong and Tonle consequences. This project aims to investigate Sap arterial rivers between 1350 and 1750. Whilst the how individuals responded and contributed to this decline of Angkor is one of the most significant events transformation over their life course, and how this in the history of Southeast Asia, we do not have a precise moulded current values around quality of life in Australia. date for the event that involved the relocation of many The project also aims to develop a pioneering approach hundreds of thousands of people. By determining when that will integrate historical and archaeological evidence the Kings of Angkor moved to the southern capitals we on individual, site, neighbourhood, city and global levels will clarify the end of Angkor, retrieve Cambodian history in new ways. Fresh social histories of Melbourne and from a perceived Dark Age, and reveal critical linkages Bendigo will be generated, which reinforce national between the celebrated Angkorian past and modern and identity and have implications for understanding the contemporary Cambodia. impact of the current mining boom on individuals. THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND MENVIEL, DR LAURIE MANNE, DR TIINA PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ARCHAEOLOGY ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE For over 40 years, archaeologists have debated the nature In the past 50 000 years there were several episodes of of the initial colonisation of Australia and how people abrupt climate change during which atmospheric carbon subsequently coped with large-scale climate change. This dioxide rose significantly. This project aims to determine is the first study to examine systematically variation in the causes of past abrupt changes in atmospheric carbon human subsistence behaviour and animal community dioxide. The project is significant because understanding structure across northern Australia. Through analyses of changes in the global carbon cycle is essential to estimate archaeofaunas from key archaeological sites, this project future climate trajectories. Innovatively, it will highlight aims to test assumptions about why and how northern the relationship between Southern Hemisphere water Australia was first occupied and the manner in which masses and the marine carbon cycle during abrupt people responded to dramatic environmental shifts. An climate change. The expected outcomes include a better additional outcome of this project, it is hoped, will be understanding of the interplay between Southern Ocean processes and the carbon cycle.

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DISCOVERY PROJECTS aims to provide a complete and predictive description of THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY the GI effects on geodetic data, consistent with geological evidence, such that other tectonic, hydrologic and sea-level HUNG, DR HSIAO-CHUN; CARSON, DR MICHAEL T signals can be estimated free of these effects. ARCHAEOLOGY Over several centuries since 4000 BC, the social- KING, DR PENELOPE L GEOLOGY ecological setting of Taiwan transformed from low-impact hunting – foraging to high-density village residence High temperature gases circulate through Earth’s and intensive farming. Meanwhile, it was reshaped by interior and atmosphere, but little is known about how new strategic relations with the outside world through they react. Recent work shows that exceptionally rapid migration and trade networks. New research aims to reactions occur between gases and solids at surfaces. investigate how these long-term developments inter- These reactions are instrumental in forming ore deposits related and transcended changing climate, natural and transporting gases and salts to Earth’s surface, habitats, population size, and other factors. The research atmosphere and oceans – affecting climate and biological is designed to address how a complex economic landscape productivity. This project aims to examine natural system developed and sustained itself through ongoing samples and investigate gas-solid reactions experimentally challenges, by concentrating on Taiwan as a uniquely to constrain reaction mechanisms. It is expected that the informative example of combined intensive internal land project outcomes will open up a new field of geochemistry – use and external partnerships. with novel experiments, state-of-the-art analysis and the development of innovative models that account for O’REILLY, DR DOUGALD J; SHEWAN, DR the role of gas-solid reactions in Earth and planetary LOUISE G; ARMSTRONG, DR RICHARD A; LIM, A/ processes. PROF SAMSUNG; CHANG, DR NIGEL J; DOMETT, DR KATHRYN M; HALCROW, DR SIAN E THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD, DR JUDITH H; SUMMERHAYES, Since their discovery in the 1930s, the mysterious PROF GLENN R collections of giant stone jars scattered throughout central ARCHAEOLOGY Laos have remained one of the great prehistoric puzzles of Around 50 000 years ago, people crossed the Wallace south-east (SE) Asia. It is thought that the jars represent Line and set foot on Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New the mortuary remains of an extensive and powerful Iron Guinea) for the first time. Rapid dispersal across the Age culture. This project seeks to determine the true Sahul continent followed during a period of climatic nature of these sites, which date to a dynamic period of deterioration. Subsequent human impacts on the increasing complexity in SE Asia (c.500BCE-500CE). landscape are well preserved in the fossil record, The project entails extensive reconnaissance, precision particularly plants. This project aims to implement mapping, archaeological excavation and analysis of an archaeological and palaeobotanical approach to associated burial material. Using a suite of cutting-edge investigate the temporal and spatial patterning of archaeological technologies, it is expected to have far- landscape use through a period of climatic change in reaching benefits for archaeology, science, Laos and the Late Quaternary. The results are expected to provide World Heritage. a fuller understanding of the subsistence strategies and dynamics of human responses to climate change over LAMBECK, PROF KURT long time periods. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE ENGLAND, PROF MATTHEW H; SEN GUPTA, DR Glacio-isostatic (GI) effects are recorded in geological ALEXANDER R; SANTOSO, DR AGUS; MCGREGOR, and geodetic data sets and mask other deformational DR SHAYNE; UMMENHOFER, DR CAROLINE C; processes. This project builds on past work using CAI, DR WENJU; TIMMERMANN, PROF AXEL geological data with a focus on combining geodetic OCEANOGRAPHY and geological evidence to improve knowledge of the Variability in the Pacific Ocean has a profound impact on past ice sheets, separate out effects of past and present global climate. Recent unprecedented decadal variability deglaciation and develop improved models for the in the Pacific has been linked to global temperature trends mantle rheology to include time-dependencies in mantle and extremes, yet little is known about what drives this response (transient creep in the first instance). The project variability or its impact on regional climate. This project will combine observations, advanced coupled climate

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models and ocean – atmosphere dynamical theory to SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY quantify remote drivers of Pacific Ocean variability on EYRE, PROF BRADLEY D; SCHULZ, A/PROF KAI G; interannual-decadal time-scales. This project aims to ANDERSSON, ASST PROF ANDREAS enhance our understanding of the modes of variability GEOCHEMISTRY operating in this region and their impact on global and Australian climate. This will have significant benefits Dissolution of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in sediments for the many sectors of society reliant on interseasonal – in the context of ocean acidification is poorly understood. decadal climate prediction. This project will use in situ advective benthic chamber incubations and experimental manipulations under THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY future ocean acidification scenarios to determine the BETTS, PROF ALISON V; VICZIANY, PROF MARIKA controls on the dissolution of CaCO3 in sediments. This A; DI CASTRO, DR ANGELO ANDREA; DODSON, project is significant because changes in the dissolution PROF JOHN R; CONG, A/PROF DEXIN; LI, of CaCO3 in sediments in an acidifying ocean are at PROF XIAO QIANG; SALZMAN, PROF PHILIP least as important, and potentially more important, than calcification to the future accretion and survival of ARCHAEOLOGY carbonate ecosystems. It is expected that outcomes of this The early rise of China’s great civilization owed its rapid project will significantly advance our understanding of the momentum to important technological innovations that drivers of the dissolution of CaCO3 in sediments and the were brought in from the far distant Eurasian steppes, functioning of globally important carbonate ecosystems but almost nothing is known of how or why this process took place. The project aims to explore these questions SANDERS, DR CHRISTIAN J; SANTOS, A/PROF through excavations at one of China’s most important ISAAC R; SACHS, PROF JULIAN P Bronze Age archaeological sites in western Xinjiang. The SOIL SCIENCES innovations include the cultivation of wheat and barley, The aim of this project is to investigate carbon burial complex metallurgical techniques in bronze, silver and in mangroves during current and historical climatic gold, the domesticated horse and the spoke-wheeled conditions through in depth dating methods and chariot, which became a universal weapon of war across paleoclimate reconstructions. The project intends to the ancient world. The project aims to test theories of use state-of-the-art radionuclide tracer technologies to cultural transmission through interactive GIS modelling determine system scale aspects of the mangrove carbon of environment and land use potential. budget, i.e. burial, tidal export and respiration. This CLARKE, DR ANNE F; PHILP, DR JUDE P; project is significant because it aims to delineate how TORRENCE, DR ROBIN; KNOWLES, climatic conditions are directly related to the mangrove carbon budget. Further, the site specific data on historical MS CHANTAL M mangrove carbon burial could allow adaptation strategies ARCHAEOLOGY for use of coastal wetland habitats that sequester CO2, Sensing the impacts of colonisation, the first a natural means to help ameliorate greenhouse gas, as Administrator of British New Guinea William MacGregor support for mangrove forest protection and restoration. made a significant collection of objects specifically for its future citizens. This comprehensive legacy of 13 000 UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG objects did not remain in the country but was dispersed to WOODROFFE, PROF COLIN D; MURRAY-WALLACE, three Australian and six overseas museums. Our aim is to PROF COLIN V; KENNEDY, DR DAVID M; TAMURA, re-assemble and re-connect this material by ‘excavating’ DR TORU; NICHOL, DR SCOTT L; MCBRIDE, its private and official components. This research aims to DR RANDOLPH A focus on the makers and traders to disentangle the social PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL relationships embedded in the objects. Using material- GEOSCIENCE centred, assemblage-based archaeological approaches, we aim to investigate how indigenous groups used objects to This project aims to reconstruct sedimentary processes negotiate with the new colonial government and evolution of key coastal plains in southern Australia. These low-lying coasts, and the settlements and infrastructure on them, are vulnerable to inundation and shoreline erosion. Past behaviour of different types of coasts will be determined by combining innovative geospatial techniques to map morphology and past changes, geophysical imaging of stratigraphy and

38 32 | 1 | ARC RESULTS

geochronology. The outcome will be models that explain elsewhere in the ancient state. Through detailed responses to sediment availability, past storm history and excavation and radiometric dating of the cult centre in sea-level changes. This will benefit sustainable coastal Dakhleh Oasis, it aims to explore the proposition that planning and management, providing geomorphological the continued veneration of Seth can be read as a sign of evidence to support erosion hazard assessments of these regional independence. This is intended to challenge the and adjacent coasts. orthodox view that Egypt operated as a monolithic state; reshaping how we approach ancient Egyptian religion LA TROBE UNIVERSITY and administration. In doing so, the study is expected COSGROVE, A/PROF RICHARD F; GARVEY, to position an Australian research team at the forefront DR JILLIAN M; WEBB, DR JOHN A of contemporary scholarship on Egypt, enhancing our ARCHAEOLOGY national reputation in the promotion and preservation of global heritage. This project examines the archaeology of Aboriginal people in eastern Tasmania. Its major aim is to test two THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE models of Holocene and late Pleistocene land use. It TIBBY, DR JOHN; MOSS, DR PATRICK T; LENG, investigates the earliest traces of human occupation in PROF MELANIE; SHAKUN, DR JEREMY; SPOONER, eastern Tasmania and subsequent cultural developments after the apparent abandonment of southwest Tasmanian ADJ/PROF NIGEL A caves at the end of the ice age. The study aims to ARCHAEOLOGY strengthen understanding of the impact of geographic Before the arrival of Europeans, two events shaped connectedness and isolation on Aboriginal populations Australia’s current landscapes and biota more than and the development of Tasmanian Aboriginal society any others: climate change during the glacial cycle and recorded at European contact. Its potential significance the arrival of humans on the continent. However, the lies in contributing to debates on Aboriginal social/ full scale of these events is not well understood. High economic change and stasis. resolution analyses of two continuous 140 000 year old sediment deposits will be used in this project to fill STERN, DR NICOLA; JACOBS, DR ZENOBIA; this void and answer fundamental questions about how MCCLUSKY, DR SIMON ; WILLIAMS, PROF current Australian environments came to be. IAN S; MURRAY-WALLACE, PROF COLIN V; GRUN, PROF DR RAINER; DENHAM, DR TIMOTHY P THE FLINDERS UNIVERSITY OF ARCHAEOLOGY SOUTH AUSTRALIA The southern tip of the Mungo lunette is an icon of PRIDEAUX, A/PROF GAVIN J; HUTCHINSON, Australia’s Indigenous past. Despite its international DR MARK N significance, the archaeological traces have disintegrated EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY as the lunette has eroded over the past 30 years. In this The Wellington Caves in central eastern New South Wales interdisciplinary project, collaboration with Elders from are Australia’s most historically significant fossil locality the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area is and preserve one of the world’s most complete records expected to reconstruct the history of environmental of vertebrate life spanning the past 4 million years. To changes and the life-ways of the first humans to settle date this unique archive has been vastly under-exploited this region. The focus will be on stitching together the as a source of information on how faunas respond to archaeological traces scattered through space and time, increased aridity and climatic variability, as well as human and on measuring processes of modern sediment erosion activities over the past 50 000 years. This project aims to and deposition so as to develop management strategies elucidate how climate change drove the evolution of the for the future protection of this unique archive of modern fauna of eastern Australia by analysing changes Australia’s past. in diversity, diet and community structure over time. It may also help break the 130-year climate-versus-humans MONASH UNIVERSITY deadlock over what drove the Pleistocene megafaunal HOPE, A/PROF COLIN A; BOWEN, DR GILLIAN E; extinctions. GARDNER, PROF IAIN ARCHAEOLOGY This project aims to examine the growth and survival of the cult of Seth in Egypt’s Western Desert against the background of the cult’s suggested proscription

32 | 1 39 BOOK REVIEW Geoarchaeology of Aboriginal landscapes in semi-arid Australia by Simon Holdaway and Patricia Fanning

ARC RESULTS |

THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND Geoarchaeology of Aboriginal SHULMEISTER, PROF JAMES P; HESP, PROF landscapes in semi-arid Australia PATRICK A; MIOT DA SILVA, DR GRAZIELA; WELSH, DR KEVIN J; SANTINI, DR TALITHA; Simon J Holdaway and Patricia C Fanning LARSEN, DR JOSHUA; GONTZ, A/PROF ALLEN M; CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2014 RITTENOUR, DR TAMMY ISBN: 9780643108943, Paperback AUD 69.95 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL Available online: http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/20/ GEOSCIENCE pid/7024.htm This project aims to generate fundamental information Review by Kathryn Fitzsimmons about the timing and mode of formation of sand dunes in Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the world’s largest downdrift sand system, Cooloola and Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany Fraser Island, Queensland. The project aims to provide a world class record of climate variability, sea-level change Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station lies in remote and long term climate change from the sub-tropics of western New South Wales, where the tarmac of the Australia, an area critical to understanding global climate Silver City Highway meets the interminable gravel which links and sea-level change but where high quality long- heralds the outback. Since taking on the Station lease term records are sparse and little investigated. This since 1966, the University of New South Wales has project will also underpin the outstanding universal value overseen and supported innumerable research projects of the Fraser Island World Heritage Area which is based spanning the sciences from ecology to geomorphology, on the area being the world’s largest sand island, but earning the site a place on the Register of the National for which scientific understanding of the sand dunes is Estate. Quaternary geomorphology has not been remarkably poor. overlooked in this slew of research (e.g. Dunkerley and Brown, 1999; Mabbutt, 1973; Wakelin-King and CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Webb, 2007). However, up until recently, the role of GRICE, PROF KLITI; BUSH, PROF RICHARD T; people in the landscape has received comparatively VISSCHER, PROF DR PIETER T; SESSIONS, PROF little attention. This 224-page volume by archaeologist ALEX; SCHWARK, PROF DR LORENZ Simon Holdaway and geoarchaeologist Trish Fanning GEOCHEMISTRY represents the first truly systematic and interdisciplinary approach to understanding archaeological traces from a This project will apply compound specific sulfur landscape perspective. isotope analyses to sulfur-rich deposits from extreme environments including sulfidic black oozes (Peel-Harvey Holdaway and Fanning’s task is a formidable one. The estuary); modern microbialites (for example, Shark landscape of this part of arid western New South Wales Bay) and oils/source rocks (established and frontier oil is relatively sediment-poor, and the reconstruction fields). Sulfur isotopic data, integrated with other stable of past land surfaces across which people left traces isotopic and molecular data, will greatly assist the study of their occupation is correspondingly difficult. The of sulfur biogeochemical cycles and mechanisms of authors were well aware of this challenge – one which organic sulfurisation at different diagenetic stages or confronts geoarchaeologists working across many parts geological ages. The project aims to address national of arid Australia – and consequently invested a great concerns through measuring the respective impact of deal of time into developing a systematic and integrated anthropogenic and natural changes on environments, methodology for conducting geoarchaeological surveys in helping to understand the evolution of life on Earth comparable landscapes. and contributing to efficient discovery of our natural The result is a book which unfolds over six chapters, but petroleum systems. which can nevertheless be read independently depending on one’s main field of interest. It is clearly and concisely written, and aimed at a level accessible not only to specialists but also to undergraduates and professionals working in cultural heritage and environmental management. Since archaeological and geological specialists often suffer from a lack of communication across the disciplines, the accessibility of the text is no mean feat, and a great credit to the effective synergy between the two authors.

40 32 | 1 GEOARCHAEOLOGY OF ABORIGINAL LANDSCAPES IN SEMI-ARID AUSTRALIA | BOOK REVIEW

means of multiple figures, graphs and tables throughout. From my point of view, the chronology data in Chapter 4 provides an interesting case where novel luminescence dating of heat-retainer hearth sediments is combined with radiocarbon dating to produce a surface network rather than a stratigraphic sequence of age estimates. Temporal and spatial patterns of hearth construction phases are therefore extracted from the palimpsest and synthesised across the multiple survey nodes. This presents a highly innovative approach to reconstructing the past from a formidably sediment-poor landscape. More space is allocated to the analysis of artefact assemblage preservation and variability in lithic core technology, distribution, and raw material types than to the geochronology; I would have liked to have seen more discussion regarding the quality of the geochronological data. However this may have been because Chapters 3 and The first two chapters focus on providing the 5, by comparison, simply require more tables and figures reader with the requisite understanding of the local to demonstrate their point. environment and state-of-the-art research (Chapter 1), The final synthesis, drawing together the data discussed and the methodological framework which underpins in the preceding chapters, paints a powerful picture of geoarchaeological research in this sort of landscape spatial and temporal patterns of landscape use in the (Chapter 2). The regional description, assisted by a swath Fowlers Gap region – all the more so given what the of colour plates at the beginning of the book, leaves reader by now understands to be a challenging landscape the reader in no doubt as to the scale of the challenge – and provides compelling evidence to support the involved in developing a systematic framework for systematic framework proposed earlier in the book. The geoarchaeological survey in the Fowlers Gap area. It authors engage in a thorough discussion of important quickly becomes evident that the conventional approach issues and common traps for archaeologists – in to an archaeological survey – combining excavation and particular, the matter of occupation vs. visitation – which analysis of stratified sedimentary deposits with surface will hopefully provoke further discussion on these topics surveys using grids or transects – is ineffective in this amongst specialists and undergraduates alike. While kind of landscape. The second chapter systematically the book focusses on the Fowlers Gap region, it is clear presents and pragmatically discusses the challenges that the proposed framework is highly applicable to vast involved, and proposes a carefully considered framework tracts of semi/arid Australia, not to mention comparable based on the integration of 1) an assessment of artefact landscapes across the world. As such, it is a highly assemblage formation, and 2) landscape mapping as useful and timely book for researchers, teachers and a foundation for artefact surveys. This is an elegant students alike. approach which can theoretically be applied across comparable landscapes. Paper copies may be purchased online from CSIRO’s publications website and as an ebook from E Books, The applicability of the proposed methodology is then Google and Amazon for a smaller fee. demonstrated using the case study of Fowlers Gap in the subsequent chapters. These focus on the specific fields REFERENCES CITED: of surface artefact preservation (Chapter 3), chronology Dunkerley, D., Brown, K., 1999. Banded vegetation near (Chapter 4), and lithic assemblages (Chapter 5), Broken Hill, Australia: significance of surface roughness respectively. At the beginning of each chapter, the authors and soil physical properties. Catena 37, 75-88. describe the theory and methodology of the approach in Mabbutt, J., 1973. Lands of Fowlers Gap Station, greater detail than provided in the preceding overview. University of New South Wales Fowlers Gap Arid Zone These chapters afford a more specialist viewpoint and Research Station Research Series, Sydney. can be read in isolation, although arguably the purpose of the book is to take an holistic standpoint, one which Wakelin-King, G.A., Webb, J.A., 2007. Threshold- is synthesised in the final Chapter 6. The systematic dominated fluvial styles in an arid-zone mud-aggregate approach adopted by the authors is clearly evident from river: the uplands of Fowlers Creek, Australia. these chapters: the data are thoroughly interrogated by Geomorphology 85, 114-127.

32 | 1 41 THESIS ABSTRACTS Thesis Abstracts: Romina Belli, Nathan Nagle, Samantha Oyston

THESIS ABSTRACTS | ROMINA BELLI, NATHAN NAGLE, SAMANTHA OYSTON

THESIS ABSTRACTS Replicate Palaeoclimate Multi-proxy Data Series from Different Speleothems from N-Italy: Reproducibility of the Data and New Methodology Romina Belli (PhD) School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia (now University of Trento, Italy)

Changes in geochemical and almost exclusively from dissolution be interpreted as changes in air-mass physical properties of speleothems of carbonate host-rock, as a result of provenance and rainfall seasonality are considered to be accurate proxies incongruent carbonate dissolution (hydroclimatological component). of climate variability. However, through prolonged rock water The 13C time series, whose the climate signal is modified by interaction. Mg associated with δ values at Savi varies from – 9 to – the internal dynamics of the whole tracers typical of silicate minerals 11.2‰, are commonly interpreted karst system. The aim of the PhD and coinciding with impurity-rich as temperature-dependent soil research was to obtain reproducible layers, was ascribed to particulate respiration rate, but, at Grotta data extracted by established and matter, which were incorporated Savi, they also show a hydrological non-conventional techniques from in the stalagmite during high flow component (associated with the two coeval speleothems removed regimes. Hydrological variability more positive values) which was at Grotta Savi cave (Italy), to gain controlled also the incorporation of detected by combining dead- information about regional climate Sr whose concentration variability carbon proportion (dcp) and responses across the Late Glacial to is commonly related to speleothem 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Episodes of great Holocene transition (15 to 9 kyr BP). growth rate. The 87Sr/86Sr 87Sr/86Sr ratios suggested drier Different past hydrological regimes ratios, which ranges from 0.7077 conditions, whereas episodes of for the two drips were reconstructed to 0.7082, were used to identify high dcp values (~15%) have been on the basis of stalagmites physical the source of Sr. Increases in interpreted as a result of enhanced characteristics and this helped the 87Sr/86Sr ratios suggest a host-rock dissolution during wetter to disentangle the global, from higher contribution of radiogenic conditions. The combination of the local phenomena. This non- Sr from aeolian dust originated palaeohydrological indicators and conventional approach, was applied from proximal subalpine periglacial 13C signal allowed recognising here for the first time on fossil regions and transported onto the δ that wet climate conditions samples resulting in a benchmark catchment of Savi cave. It is worth occurred during phases of Northern for the interpretation of chemical noting that the Sr isotope ratio is Hemisphere climate cooling, which proxies and, thus, enabling an here interpreted as increase in wind adds a new perspective to the assessment of the calcite formation strength, which likely enhanced common interpretation of wet/warm environment, hitherto not possible. evaporation in the soil zone and thus or cold/dry climate extracted from The interpretation of 18O values contributed toward the amplification δ speleothem geochemical proxies (which vary from – 5 to – 7.4‰) as of a “dry climate” signal recorded when a multi-proxy approach is not reflecting past hydrology was then by the stalagmites. After removing taken. validated by using an independent the growth rate component to Sr palaeohydrological proxy, developed concentration, taking into account The comparison of the Late in this study. the source of Sr and minimising Glacial δ13C time series of Savi the Mg component associated with speleothems with a stalagmite At Grotta Savi, hydrology, and in particulate transport, it has been showing similar fabrics from Sofular particular flow-regime, had a strong possible to use Sr and Mg time series cave in Turkey revealed a common control on Mg incorporation in to reconstruct palaeohydrological trend. This similarity suggests the the stalagmite, as determined by and hydroclimatological variability possibility that speleothems may coupling petrographic observations across the deglaciation. The non- encode information on the global and trace element time series. hydrological component to the 18O C cycle, similar to soil carbonates, Thus, it was found that under low- δ values was then extracted and could which needs future testing. moderate flow regimes, Mg derived

42 32 | 1 Thesis Abstracts: Romina Belli, Nathan Nagle, Samantha Oyston

ROMINA BELLI, NATHAN NAGLE, SAMANTHA OYSTON | THESIS ABSTRACTS

Distribution and dispersal of legacy sediment and contamination from historical gold mining at Hill End, New South Wales, Australia Nathan Nagle (MRes) Department of Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia Supervisor: Dr Tim Ralph

The conclusive palaeoclimate Gold rushes in the 19th century In the uplands of Hill End, legacy interpretation for the Late Glacial in impacted landscapes throughout the sediment is stored in finely the region is that, the Younger Dryas world through vegetation clearance, laminated sequences in tailings was characterised in the Northern disturbance of soil and sediment and dams. There was no sediment stored Mediterranean by high hydrological the release of metals (e.g. mercury in the steep gorges of Hill End and variability, possibly related to and arsenic) into the environment. sediment was stored with cobbles changes in air masses trajectories Legacy sediment episodically and gravel in occasional mid-channel and wind strength. The stalagmite produced from anthropogenic and bank attached bars in the lower proxies further suggest that the wind activities such as gold mining is reaches of the system. The majority regime was orographically induced, now stored in modern landscapes of samples contained little to no with the Alps acting as a barrier, and can contain high concentrations metal enrichment and high levels of deviating westerly winds and causing of metals. In Australia, the limited metal contamination were mainly increased wind strength in the research into the environmental restricted to artificial depocentres northern Adriatic region. impacts of historical gold mining such as tailings dams and in spoil has generally focused on metal adjacent to stamper batteries and The greatest contribution of the contamination and there has been cyanide tanks. Chemostratigraphy research to the speleothem science limited research into long-term and OSL dating in Chappell’s Dam community is, however, the use geomorphological changes in revealed that metal contamination of a multi-proxy approach on two landscapes associated with gold peaked during the height of gold stalagmites from the same cave mining processes such as the impact mining (c. 1871-1880) and declined to disentangle hydro-climatologic of large scale legacy sediment shortly after the cessation of ore from hydrological processes, and production. This study explored the processing in the adjacent stamper the recognition of different sources long-term environmental impacts of battery, coinciding with the decline for key trace elements provenance, historical gold mining at Hill End, of gold mining in the region. Peak which were eventually related to New South Wales, Australia, by metal concentrations of mercury climate parameters (wind strength investigating the dispersal of legacy (44.58 mg kg-1) and arsenic (221.0 and precipitation). sediment as well as spatial patterns mg kg-1) found in Chappell’s Dam and temporal trends of mercury, are well above ANZECC sediment arsenic, lead, copper and zinc quality guidelines and could pose contamination. Soil and sediment a risk to local aquatic ecosystems. metal contamination was analysed Understanding the fate of legacy using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and a sediment and metal contaminated direct mercury analyser, and optically sediment in a highly connected stimulated luminescence (OSL) and system such as Hill End will shed excess 210Pb were used to constrain light on the larger scale impacts temporal patterns of contamination of historical gold mining in and sedimentation. Hill End Australia and can be used to inform has high hillslope-channel and management strategies for derelict longitudinal connectivity and there and active mines. are few places where legacy sediment storage occurs within the catchment.

32 | 1 43 THESIS ABSTRACTS | ROMINA BELLI, NATHAN NAGLE, SAMANTHA OYSTON

Geomorphic analysis of channel change and RECENT erosion processes contributing to avulsion PUBLICATIONS in the Macquarie Marshes, Australia Samantha Oyston (MRes) JOURNAL ARTICLES: Department of Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia Barrows, T.T., Williams, M.A.J., Supervisor: Dr Tim Ralph Mills, S. C., Duller, G.A.T., Fifield, L.K., Haberlah, D., Tims, S. G. and Williams, F.M., 2014. A Geomorphic processes such as incision in a small swamp outflow White Nile megalake during the erosion play a critical role in the channel (Buckiinguy); (2) incision last interglacial period. Geology, development of existing river and widening in a large swamp 42, 163-166. channels, as well as the formation of outflow channel (Willancorah); (3) new channels by avulsion in multi- minor incision and widening in Barth, N.C., Kulhanek, D.K., Beu, channelled systems. The Macquarie the upper and lower reaches of a A.G., Murray-Wallace, C.V., Marshes is an anastomosing and shallow, continuous marsh channel Hayward, B.W., Mildenhall, D.C. distributary system that supports (Pillicawarrina); and (4) minimal and Lee, D.E., 2014. New c. 270 extensive floodplain wetlands erosion and channel stabilisation kyr strike-slip and uplift rates through overbank flooding and in a well-established, continuous for the southern Alpine Fault channel erosion poses a threat to marsh channel (The Breakaway). and implications for the New these sensitive ecosystems. Bank strength is a key factor that Zealand plate boundary. Journal of contributes to erosion potential in Structural Geology, 64, 39-52. Four sites within the Southern the system, and sediment moisture Macquarie Marshes were Blakemore, A., Murray-Wallace, C.V., content affects bank strength. Other investigated to identify the Westaway, K. E. and Lachlan, T. factors (organic content, sand, silt dominant patterns, processes and J., 2015. Aminostratigraphy and and clay content, dry bulk density) rates of erosion that contribute to sea level history of the Pleistocene have very weak relationships with channel change and to establish an Bridgewater Formation, Mount bank strength. evolutionary sequence of channel Gambier region, southern development. Channel incision A trend was found where more Australia. Australian Journal of and narrowing were the dominant mature sites have higher bank Earth Sciences, 62, 151-169. processes measured together with strength, probably related to the Blakemore, A., Murray-Wallace, knickpoint retreat at the three less extent of past erosion. A conceptual C.V. and Lachlan, T.J., 2014. mature sites, while channel widening geomorphic model shows how First recorded evidence of and stabilisation were characteristic erosion affects the development subaqueously-deposited late of the most mature site. and formation of new channels Pleistocene interstadial (MIS 5c) during avulsion, and the effects on Significant differences in channel coastal strata above present sea longitudinal and lateral connectivity morphometrics including width, level in Australia. Marine Geology, in systems like the Macquarie depth and cross sectional area were 335, 377-383. Marshes, by redistributing water found at the four sites using data Bowdery, D., 2015. An enigma and sediment within the wetlands. from 2008 and 2014. The sites revisited: identification of palm The formation of channels by and their erosion processes fit into phytoliths extracted from the erosion plays a critical role in the a geomorphic and evolutionary 1983 Rapa Nui, Rano Kao2 evolution of anastomosing and sequence: (1) knickpoint retreat and core. Vegetation History and distributary systems. Archaeobotany, 24, 455-466. Brooke, B.P., Olley, J.M., Pietsch, T., Playford, P.E., Haines, P.W., Murray-Wallace, C.V. and Woodroffe, C.D., 2014. Chronology of Quaternary coastal aeolianite deposition and the drowned shorelines of

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southwestern Western Australia – Llave, E., Lofi, J., Lourens, L., C., Pereira, H., Sanchez Goni, A reappraisal. Quaternary Science Miller, M., Nanayama, F., Nishida, M. F., Sierro, F. J., Singh, A. Reviews, 93, 106-124. N., Richter, C., Roque, C., Pereira, D., Sloss, C, Takashimizu, H., Sanchez Goni, M. F., Sierro, Y., Tzanova, A., Voelker, A., Danielopol, D.L., Angel Baltanás, F. J., Singh, A. D., Sloss, C. Williams, T. and Xuan, C., 2014. A., Carbonel, P., Colin, J.P., R., Takashimizu, Y., Tzanova, Onset of Mediterranean outflow Crasquin, S., Decrouy, L., De A., Voelker, A., Williams, T., into the North Atlantic. Science, Deckker, P., and 20 other authors, and Xuan, C., 2014. Onset of 344 (6189), 1244-1250. 2014. From Naples 1963 to Rome Mediterranean outflow into the 2013 – A brief review of how the Harris, D.L., Webster, J.M., Vila- North Atlantic. Quantitative International Research Group on Concejo, A., Hua, Q., Yokoyama, estimation of bioturbation based Ostracoda (IRGO) developed as Y. and Reimer, P.J., 2015. Late- on digital image analysis. Marine a social communication system, Holocene sea level fall and Geology, 349, 55 – 60. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology turn-off of reef flat carbonate Palaeoecology 419, 3-22. Dotte-Sarout E., Carah X. and production: Re-thinking bucket Byrne C., 2014. Not Just Carbon: fill and coral reef growth models. Darrenougue, N., De Deckker, Assessment and Prospects for the Geology, 43, 175-178. P., Eggins, S. and Payri, C., application of Anthracology in 2014. Sea-surface temperature Horne, D., Lees, B., Cupper, Oceania. Archaeology in Oceania, reconstruction from trace M., Fitzsimmons, K.E., 2015. 50, 1-22. elements variations of tropical Revisiting the development coralline red algae. Quaternary Ferry, A., Prvan, T., Jersky, of the Princess Charlotte Bay Science Reviews, 93, 34-46. B., Crosta, X. and Armand, chenier plain: results and broader L.K., 2015. Statistical modeling implications for chenier plain De Deckker, P., 2014. Fingerprinting of Southern Ocean marine studies. Marine Geology, 364, aeolian dust in marine sediment: diatom proxy and winter sea 12-20. examples from Australia. Past ice data: model comparison Global Changes Magazine, 22, Hua, Q., Webb, G.E., Zhao, J.-x., and developments. Progress in 80-81. Nothdurft, L.D., Lybolt, M., Price, Oceanography, 131, 100-112. G.J. and Opdyke, B.N., 2015. Large De Deckker, P., Barrows, T. T. Fitzsimmons, K.E., Stern, N., variations in the Holocene marine and Rogers, J., 2014. Land–sea Murray-Wallace, C.V., Truscott, reservoir effect reflect ocean correlations in the Australian W., Pop, C., 2015. The Mungo circulation and climatic changes. region: post-glacial onset of mega-lake event, semi-arid Earth and Planetary Science the monsoon in northwestern Australia: non-linear descent into Letters, 422, 33-44. Western Australia. Quaternary the last ice age, implications for Science Reviews, 105, 181-194. Kemp, J. and Hope G.S., 2014. human behaviour. PLOS ONE, Vegetation and environments De Deckker, P., Munday, C.I., 10(6), e0127008. since the Last Glacial Maximum Brocks, J., O’Loingsigh, T., Fullagar, R., Hayes, E., Stephenson, in the Southern Tablelands, Allison, G. E., Hope, J., Norman, B., Field, J., Matheson, C., New South Wales. Journal of M., Stuut, J-B. W., Tapper, N.J. Stern, N., Fitzsimmons, K.E., Quaternary Science, 29(8), and van der Kaars, S., 2014. 2015. Evidence for Pleistocene 778‑788. Characterisation of the major dust seed grinding at Lake Mungo, storm that traversed over eastern Kenyon, C., 2015. An 1830s map: southeastern Australia. Australia in September 2009; Whose map of the mid-Murray Archaeology in Oceania, 50, 3-19. a multidisciplinary approach. River is it? Journal of The Aeolian Research, 15, 133-149. Hernandez-Molina, F. J., Stow, D. Australian and New Zealand Map A. V., Alvarez-Zarikian, C. A., Society Inc, 76, 1-12. Dorador, J., Rodríguez-Tovar, F.J., Acton, G., Bahr, A., Balestra, B., Hernandez-Molina, F. J., Stow, Macreadie, P.I., Rolph, T.C., Ducassou, E., Flood, R., Flores, D. A. V., Alvarez-Zarikian, C. A., Schröder-Adams, C., Boyd, R. and J.-A., Furota, S., Grunert, P., Acton, G., Bahr, A., Balestra, B., Skilbeck, C.G., 2015. Holocene Hodell, D., Jimenez-Espejo, F., Ducassou, E., Flood, R., Flores, J.- record of Tuggerah Lake estuary Kim, J. K., Krissek, L., Kuroda, J., A., Furota, S., Grunert, P., Hodell, development on the Australian east Li, B., Llave, E., Lofi, J., Lourens, D., Jimenez-Espejo, F., Kim, J. coast: Sedimentary responses to L., Miller, M., Nanayama, F., K., Krissek, L., Kuroda, J., Li, B., sea-level fluctuations and climate Nishida, N., Richter, C., Roque, variability. GeoResJ, 5, 57-73.

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Neukom, R., Gergis, J., Karoly, Williams, M., 2014. Interactions Jamir, T. and Hazarika, M., 2014. D., Wanner, H., Curran, M., between fluvial and eolian 50 Years After Daojali-Hading. Elbert, J., González-Rouco, F., geomorphic systems and Emerging Perspectives in the Linsley, B., Moy, A., Mundo, processes: Examples from the Archaeology of Northeast India: I., Raible, C., Steig, E., van Sahara and Australia. Catena. Essays in Honour of Tarun Chandra Ommen, T., Vance, T., Villalba, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. Sharma. Research India Press, R., Zinke, J. and Frank, D., catena.2014.09.015. New Delhi. 524 pp. 2014. Inter-hemispheric Williams, M., 2014. Why are deserts Murray-Wallace, C.V. and temperature variability over the dry? Geography Review (UK), 28 Woodroffe, C.D., 2014. last millennium. Nature Climate (2), 34-37. Quaternary Sea-Level Changes – Change, 4, 362–367. A Global Perspective. Cambridge Yang, X. and Williams, M., 2015. Pearson, S., Lynch, A. J. J., Plant, University Press, Cambridge. 484 Landforms and processes in arid R., Cork, S., Taffs, K., Dodson, pp. ISBN: 9780521820837. and semi-arid environments. J., Maynard, S., Gergis, J., Gell, Catena Special Issue: Landforms Murray-Wallace, C.V., 2015. Amino P., Thackway, R., Sealie, L. and and geomorphic processes in arid acid racemization: Eolianites. In J. Donaldson, J., 2015. Increasing and semi-arid areas. http://dx.doi. Rink, and J. Thompson, (editors). the understanding and use of org/10.1016/j.catena.2015.02.011. Encyclopedia of Scientific Dating natural archives of ecosystem Methods. Springer References, services, resilience and thresholds BOOKS AND Berlin-Heidelberg. 8 pp. to improve policy, science and BOOK CHAPTERS: practice. The Holocene, 25 (2), Armand, L., Coleman, R., Coffin, M., Murray-Wallace, C.V., 2014. 366-378. Bose, N., Suthers, I., Bruce, E., The continental shelves of SE Australia. In F.L. Chiocci and Smith, M. A., 2014. How the desert Baker, E., Gladstone, W., Ellwood, A.R. Chivas (editors). Continental got a past: A history of Quaternary M. and Holmes, S., 2015. Strategic Shelves of the World: Their research in Australia’s Deserts. Marine Alliance Research, Evolution During the Last Glacio- Historical Records of Australian Teaching and Training (SMART2): Eustatic Cycle. The Geological Science Special Issue: Desert A national Master-level at sea Society, London. Memoir 41, Science, 25, 172-185. training initiative. Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty 273-291. Smith, R.J, Matzke-Karasz, R., of Science and Engineering, Williams, M., 2014. Climate Change Kamiya, T. and De Deckker, P., Macquarie University, North in Deserts: Past, Present and 2014. Sperm lengths of non- Ryde. 42 pp. For a copy of Future. Cambridge University marine cypridoidean ostracods this document contact Leanne Press, New York. 629 pp. (Crustacea). Acta Zoologica. Armand. doi: 10.1111/azo.12099. Fenby, C., Garden, D. and Gergis, Stuut, J-B.W., Temmesfeld, F. and J., 2014. The usual weather in De Deckker, P., 2014. A 550 ka New South Wales is uncommonly record of aeolian activity near bright and clear…equal to the North West Cape, Australia: finest summer day in England: inferences from grain-size Climate and Weather in New distributions and bulk chemistry South Wales, 1788–1815. In of SE Indian Ocean deep-sea J. Beattie, M. Henry and E. sediments. Quaternary Science O’Gorman (editors). Climate, Reviews, 83, 83-94. Science and Colonization: Histories Williams, M.A.J., Usai, D., Salvatori, from Australia and New Zealand. S., Williams, F.M., Zerboni, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. A., Maritan, L. and Linseele, 43–60. V., 2015. Late Quaternary environments and prehistoric occupation in the lower White Nile valley, central Sudan. Quaternary Science Reviews. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. quascirev.2015.03.007.

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